As of Tuesday, he is in a Miami Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility waiting to find out if authorities will grant him a humanitarian visa since he’s the sole breadwinner in a large family, or if they’ll kick him out of the U.S.
“Right now we are just waiting for an answer,” said Ana Lamb, an organizer with the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC), which is assisting Blanco and his family. “He’s still in Miami and that’s all we know.”
But local progressive activists wanted to let his pregnant wife and six children know that one thing was certain: The community has their back as they face the tribulations brought on by Blanco’s deportation. And on Friday, they hope to send a message about a new policy being adopted by sheriffs in 17 Florida counties (including Hillsborough and Pinellas) to assist ICE in deporting undocumented immigrants. That policy would let sheriff’s departments keep undocumented individuals who are arrested for up to 48 hours after their scheduled release to give ICE agents time to pick them up for possible deportation.
It’s all happening as the immigration debate appears to be coming to a head nationally, as President Trump raises the volume on his call for a border wall — this week, on the heels of an incident in which an undocumented man who was driving drunk killed Indianapolis Colts linebacker Edwin Jackson. At the state level, House Speaker Richard Corcoran, who is likely to run for governor this year, released an ad that implied undocumented individuals in so-called “sanctuary cities” are targeting Americans for violent crimes.
But activists want to show the public that some media and politicians’ portrayal of widespread careless or violent behavior on the part of undocumented immigrants is not a reflection of reality. And as ICE and other entities round up individuals who’ve spent decades in the U.S., these activists are desperately trying to figure out how to help those left behind.
Just two days after Blanco turned himself into a Tampa ICE facility, more than 100 people rallied at Allendale Methodist Church. The diverse group of supporters — Muslims, Christians, members of the Native American community — vowed to raise money to cover the Blanco family’s rent, and to fight for immigration policies that don’t tear families apart.
“We are here because we know this is even bigger than Luis. All the families that are torn apart, all the families that are targeted,” said Rev. Andy Oliver, senior pastor at Allendale. “Luis did nothing but love his family and provide for them and contribute to a community. And so we here, as a community now are standing in solidarity and saying this is not right. This is evil. And we’re going to stand with you for as long as it takes.”
Oliver told Blanco’s wife Lourdes, who stood near him onstage, that the event’s organizers had come together earlier in the evening and decided to pool money each month to help them cover rent.
The moment was a touching resolution to what was perhaps one of the most dramatic local news stories of that week. A husband and father of six — seven, soon — approached an Immigration and Customs Enforcement office in Tampa, surrounded by concerned activists and clergy. And despite their impassioned pleas, Luis Blanco, a 20-year Plant City resident, was taken away.
Blanco had been stopped for speeding in South Carolina several years ago and given deportation orders, but with help from an immigration lawyer was allowed to stay in the U.S. under a humanitarian visa due to him being the family’s sole earner.
That changed under President Donald Trump.
Fear of immigrants, said Maria Jose Chapa, an organizer with Service Employees International Union, isn’t based in reality, but rather “political theater and scapegoating,” which allow misconceptions about undocumented immigrants to proliferate.
“The pathway to citizenship is not easy, as some critics have daftly assumed. Immigrants don’t choose to be undocumented,” she said. “Our immigration system is racist, discriminatory and difficult to maneuver. My own child was undocumented for eight years before I could adjust her status. Contrary to popular belief, undocumented immigrants do not receive government assistance… Contrary to popular belief, undocumented immigrants pay taxes; far more than multi-billion [dollar] corporations and our current sitting president.”
At Friday’s event, they plan to gather to express their “moral condemnation” of the contract between Florida sheriffs and ICE. It takes place at 11 a.m. at the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office Freddie Solomon Annex at 1900 9th Avenue in Ybor City.
This article appears in Feb 8-15, 2018.
