I call for the immediate release of Alexis Carrillo and to terminate deportation proceedings against Alexis, Enrique Balcazar y Zully Palacios!
*April 18, 2017 Update: Your signatures and support for Enrique Balcazar and Zully Palacios made a difference. They were released from ICE Custody (though are still in deportation proceedings) on March 28, 2017 and are big now fighting to #Free Alex who is still being held without bail!
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Deportation agents with Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrested Alex Carrillo outside the Chittenden County courthouse the morning of Wednesday the 15th. His wife Lily was with him when agents pulled him out of his car.
“When they came for Alex, they took away a husband, a father, a human being,” Lily said.
Alex is a member of the Vermont migrant worker community. Twenty-three years old, he came to Vermont seven years ago to work on a dairy farm. He started a family and has put down roots in his community. His wife Lily, a U.S. citizen, had started the process of petitioning for a green card for Alex.
In November of 2016, after getting off a work shift at 4am, Alex fell asleep behind the wheel and drove off the road. He was arrested and charged with Driving Under the Influence (DUI). Alex fought the case and the prosecutor had agreed to drop the charges. He was on his way to court the morning of his arrest for the judge to approve the dismissal, when ICE agents arrested him outside the court.
(Alex with his four-year-old daughter)
Alex (left) with daughter and wife, Lily, leading a 2016 march to free Victor Diaz. Days later, Victor was released due to public pressure.
Last year, Alex and his family marched with hundreds through Montpelier calling for the release of detained Migrant Justice member Victor Diaz. The public pressure the march helped mobilize brought about Victor’s release from immigration detention. Just as Alex stood in solidarity with Victor, now we must stand with him and his family.
To the Boston Field Office of Immigration and Customs Enforcement: I call for the immediate release of Alexis Carrillo and to terminate deportation proceedings against Alexis, Enrique Balcazar y Zully Palacios! Free Alex now!
