Democrat Joaquín Castro accused ICE of trying to deport Venezuelan families after earthquakes in his country
Joaquín Castro exhibited the insensitivity of ICE by attempting to deport several families to Venezuela hours after being impacted by two earthquakes
Joaquín Castro, representative of Texas, denounced the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Service (ICE) for allegedly trying to deport families with children to Venezuela hours after two destructive earthquakes caused severe damage and more than 2,000 recorded deaths, at least so far.
Through a publication on the social network Facebook, the 51-year-old Texan exposed the federal agency for its lack of sensitivity towards a group of Venezuelans detained in the immigration detention center in Dilley, Texas, and in deportation proceedings.
Knowing that two earthquakes of magnitude greater than seven caused the disappearance of thousands of people, the destruction of at least a thousand buildings, and the interruption of water and electricity services, ICE personnel intended to send the detainees to their country of origin.
“They woke them up in the middle of the night and sent them to Arizona on their way to Venezuela.
Ultimately, the families were returned to Dilley, but fear being deported at any moment.
“It is unthinkable to send children and families who have not committed any crime to a country plunged into chaos by a natural disaster,” the legislator wrote.
It should be noted that the main reason for not deporting South American immigrants was the damage recorded at the Maiquetía International Airport, Simón Bolívar, a city near Caracas, where aircraft landing and takeoff operations were suspended until further notice, which prevented the arrivals and departures of travelers.
However, Congressman Joaquín Castro mentioned that another 146 Venezuelans had been deported to Venezuela shortly before the earthquakes described, 120 were men, 19 women and seven children.
The dramatic thing about this was that the hotel where they were temporarily staying in their country collapsed, leaving few survivors.
“Last week, 146 men, women and children were deported to their homes in Venezuela hours before the earthquakes; many of them are suspected to have died.
These actions are cruel and un-American. “I call on the Trump Administration to stop all deportations to Venezuela and close the Dilley mobile prison,” he emphasized.