ICE trying to deport dad of Phoenix 5-year-old with cancer, lawyer says

Federal immigration authorities are trying to deport the father of five U.S.-citizen children, including a 5-year-old boy with a rare form of cancer, according to his lawyer.

The man, 30-year-old Jesus Berrones, originally from San Luis Potosi, Mexico, was asked to report to the Phoenix offices of Immigration and Customs Enforcement on Monday to be immediately deported, according to Garrett Wilkes, a Phoenix immigration lawyer.

The case shows the shift in policy under the Trump administration, which has greatly expanded deportation priorities. Under the Obama administration, ICE granted Berrones a stay of removal and allowed him to remain free with a work permit.

“The mindset now is, 'Deport now, ask questions later,'” Wilkes said.

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Husband, father of five

Berrones, a furniture upholsterer and air conditioning maintenance worker, lives in Phoenix and has been in the United States since he was about 18 months old, Wilkes told The Arizona Republic.

Federal immigration authorities want to reinstate a deportation order despite the stress his deportation would put the man's young family, including a 5-year-old boy receiving intensive chemotherapy for a rare form of leukemia, Wilkes said.

Berrones has five children, all U.S. citizens including two from a previous relationship and three with his wife, Sonia Garcia, 24. She is a U.S. citizen, and pregnant, Wilkes said.

“It would be catastrophic in every literal and emotional sense of the word. This is not just a man who is a husband and a father, he is an example to these kids,” Wilkes said.

Rather than report to ICE, the man on Friday sought sanctuary inside a north Phoenix church, Shadow Rock United Church of Christ.

Sitting in the sanctuary of the church on Sunday, as his children played outside, Berrones said he doesn't want to be deported so that he can try and fix his immigration problems and continue to support his family.

His son, Jayden, was diagnosed with leukemia in 2016, when he was hospitalized. After receiving more than a year of treatment. He still has two more years of treatment left, including taking chemotherapy pills several times a day, and monthly visits to Phoenix Children's Hospital.

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His wife cannot give him the pills because handling or being near the drugs could pose a danger to her pregnancy, he said.

'I just don't want to be deported'

He said he was brought to the U.S. illegally when he was a year and five months old, and was never able to legalize his status.

He attended school in Phoenix since he was in kindergarten, including Camelback High School and Summit High School.

He said the only close relative he has in Mexico is his father, who he does not know.

"I just don't want to be deported and lose my family," he said.

The Shadow Rock congregation offered to allow the dad to live inside the church to protect him from being arrested and deported until he can exhaust his legal options to stay in the U.S., said Rev. Ken Heintzleman, the pastor.

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"Our society really looks down on fathers who are neglectful," Heintzleman said. "This man crossed the desert I think twice, put his life at risk in order to be a father and to take care of his family. He should really be praised and commended rather than judged, and punished and deported."

In addition to Berrones, six immigrants facing deportation have lived at the same church since 2014, including one other immigrant from Mexico still there, Heintzleman said.

"Our mission has been from the beginning, it's very simple, it's to keep families together and to keep people safe," he said.

ICE officials could not be immediately reached for comment.

ICE check-ins, deportation looming

Wilkes said Berrones was caught driving with a fake driver's license in 2006 following a traffic stop when he was a minor. He pleaded guilty to a felony charge of solicitation of forgery, which resulted in him being voluntary returned to Mexico when he was 17 or 18. He returned illegally to the U.S. two weeks later, but was voluntary removed again in 2010, Wilkes said, but again returned illegally.

In 2016, Berrones was caught by ICE again. He was facing a felony illegal re-entry charge, but instead was charged with a misdemeanor unlawful entry charge.

"It took it down from a felony to a misdemeanor," Berrones said. 

Wilkes also was able to get Berrones's 2016 felony conviction set aside, which made it possible for him to ask ICE for a 1-year stay or removal, which was granted based on humanitarian factors because of his sick son, he said.

ICE then released Berrones from custody,  and was allowed to apply for a work permit.

In June, 2017, however, Berrones received a phone call from ICE asking him to come in for a check-in, which he did, Wilkes said. During the check-in, ICE officials informed Berrones that he would be required to check-in every six months, Wilkes said.

During his next check-in on Dec. 29, ICE officials informed Berrones that he would be deported in 30 days, which came as a shock, Wilkes said.

Wilkes said he asked ICE for another stay of removal, but ICE denied the stay on Feb. 8 without explanation, and told Berrones to show up at ICE's offices on Monday to be deported to Mexico.

Berrones continues to wear the monitoring bracelet ICE placed on his ankle in December, Wilkes said.

Wilkes said he is hoping ICE will reconsider granting Berrones a stay of removal. That would allow Berrones to seek to have his deportation order canceled, which would open the door for him to remain in legally in the U.S. with his family.

"He has a U.S. citizen family member who will suffer extremely without him, he can show good morale character, and in addition, he is married to a U.S. citizen," Wilkes said.

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