An unshackled Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has ordered Genoveva Ramirez, a 67-year-old local leader and undocumented grandmother of ten children, to leave the United States by the end of October.
Ramirez, who arrived with a visa nearly two decades ago, had checked in “diligently” with immigration officials since it expired and “as recently as two years ago, they told her that she didn't need to continue checking in.” But following Donald Trump’s inauguration, immigrants who have been trying to follow the rules by checking in with ICE have been ordered to leave at alarming numbers, in what immigrant rights advocates are calling “silent raids.” Many walk into once-routine meetings only to not walk back out.
This week, Ramirez walked into one of these meetings and was then told by federal immigration officials to buy a one-way ticket and prepare to leave her home, family, and country by the end of October:
As soon as [grandson] Mariano realized his grandmother was being deported, he immediately ran up to her in tears and hugged her. Ramirez tried to comfort him, but Mariano didn’t budge from her waist as Ruiz-Velasco and U.S. Rep. Jan Schakowsky, D-Ill., spoke about the next steps.
[Attorney Mony] Ruiz-Velasco, who said Ramirez could be detained at any time, promised that the fight was not over. She said that Ramirez has a pending visa that she applied for a year and a half ago.
“Immigration feels like they can do anything they want. They feel like there are no rules that apply to their cases; they have no discretion. Everyone is a priority to be removed,” Ruiz-Velasco said. “ICE is really out of control. They have zero accountability for anyone.”
“Is the United States of America, or the city of Chicago, better off for deporting this woman, who has been here for 16 years?” Rep. Schakowsky asked as Ramirez hugged her weeping grandson. “It makes no sense whatsoever.”