Denouncing ICE deception and cruelty in Grand Rapids, local immigrant justice groups created an online campaign to Free Carlos Menjivar

Yesterday, Movimiento Cosecha and GR Rapid Response to ICE held a Press Conference at Fountain Street Church to denounce ICE deception and cruelty against a Salvadoran family. 

The family of Carlos Menjivar is claiming Sanctuary out of fear of being detained by ICE, following Carlos’ arrest last Wednesday, June 4, at an ICE raid here in Grand Rapids. 

Carlos and his family had been offered a Voluntary Departure by ICE in previous weeks by the ISAP office personnel, so they had already purchased plane tickets to voluntarily fly back to El Salvador this week. Then ICE officials scheduled a check-in appointment at the ISAP office in Grand Rapids, which Carlos attended in good faith, counting on ICE’s verbal agreement with him and knowing he was soon to return to El Salvador. Yet during this appointment, Carlos was taken by alleged ICE agents and is now being held at the Calhoun County Jail in Battle Creek.

Fountain Street Church has offered the family of Carlos Menjivar sanctuary, in the words of Pastor Dannison, “When the residents of our community are under attack or under threat, our doors are open to provide shelter and sanctuary.” 

The wife of Carlos Menjivar wanted to go into sanctuary out of fear for her children, but also to publicly denounce how ICE deceived her husband who had already agreed to a voluntary departure. 

In response to the cruel and deceptive practices of ICE, Movimiento Cosecha and GR Rapid Response to ICE have created an online pressure campaign to call upon Michigan Senators Gary Peters and Elissa Slotkin, along with Representative Hillary Scholten to directly intervene on behalf of Carlos Menjivar who was wrongfully detained by ICE last week in Grand Rapids. The online pressure campaign has three demands:

• For Carlos Menjivar to be released before Saturday, so he and his family can voluntarily depart to their home country of El Salvador.
  
• Return Carlos’ passport, which the ICE agents took when they detained him.
  
• Change Carlos Menjivar’s status from deportation to voluntary departure, since a charge of deportation would have lifelong consequences for him.

Go to this link to send messages to the three Michigan members of Congress. This pressure campaign will provide an opportunity for Peters, Slotkin and Scholten to leverage their power to assist the family of Carlos Menjivar who was wrongfully detained. Movimiento Cosecha organizer Gema Lowe said, “we are asking for people to sign the pressure campaign and share, because we need as many people as possible to send Peters, Slotkin and Scholten a message that they need to step up and defend families against separation by ICE. 

GR Rapid Response to ICE also stated during the Press Conference that Fountain Street Church is modeling the behavior that should be the norm for faith communities in this city. There are roughly 800 churches and this is a chance for Grand Rapids to not only be Beer City, but a City of Sanctuary.

Please sign the online petition and share it widely! .https://actionnetwork.org/letters/free-carlos-menjivar-from-ice-detention/