Undocumented immigrant who fled Mexico, settled in Pittsburgh with family may be deported

PITTSBURGH — An undocumented immigrant who settled in Pittsburgh with his family and became a leader in the Latino community may be deported after spending eight months in an immigration prison.

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Martin Esquivel-Hernandez was arrested several months ago for a traffic violation, and ever since then, supporters have rallied around him. All of their work to reunite Esquivel-Hernandez with his family in the city’s Brookline neighborhood could come down to the next few hours.

“ICE does have the power to take him whenever they want,” supporter Christina Acuna Castillo said.

Esquivel-Hernandez escaped violence in Mexico City to reunite with his family, but he was captured and returned to Mexico several times before making it to Pittsburgh several years ago.

After a routine traffic stop in the spring, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers arrested Esquivel-Hernandez for illegally crossing the border.

Supporters said Esquivel-Hernandez came to the United States solely for his family, and that he became a pillar in Pittsburgh’s Latino community.

“I can only have faith in all of the support we've gathered in the last eight months and pray that that's enough,” Castillo said.

Esquivel-Hernandez pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor crossing the border charge two weeks ago, meaning he’s not a priority for deportation under federal guidelines. The chance of him staying, though, could be fading.

In a statement to Channel 11 News, a spokesman for ICE said:

“Mr. Esquivel-Hernandez has two misdemeanor convictions, one from 2012 and 2017, and federal authorities removed him to Mexico four times since 2011, with the latest removal taking place in 2012. As a result, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has designated Mr. Esquivel-Hernandez's case as a priority for immigration enforcement.”

Supporters said they’re doing everything in their power to stop the deportation, including calling on ICE to use prosecutorial discretion since Esquivel-Hernandez is a non-violent offender.

He faces deportation as early as Tuesday.

Cox Media Group