ICE Deports 20-Year-Old With No Criminal Record: ‘Man of Faith’

A 20-year-old Guatemalan national with no criminal record was deported from the United States days after being detained by immigration agents.

Pascual Pedro, a construction worker and West Liberty High School graduate, was deported around July 6 or 7 to the country he fled as a teenager, The Des Moines Register reported.

Pedro had attended a routine check-in appointment with immigration officials at their office in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, on July 1 when Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detained him.

While being detained, Pedro managed to send a text message to his grandfather to inform him of the situation. He also shared a photo on Snapchat showing his ankles cuffed together, The Gazette reported.

Newsweek has contacted ICE and the Department of Homeland Security for comment.

Why It Matters

President Donald Trump has pledged to remove millions of immigrants without legal status as part of Republicans’ flagship mass deportation policy. The White House has maintained that anyone living in the country illegally is considered a criminal. Critics say the immigration raids sow fear in vulnerable migrant communities.

What To Know

Pedro arrived in the United States from Guatemala in 2018 at age 13, accompanied by his father. Shortly after their arrival, his father was detained and deported during a check-in with ICE.

Although Pedro was also placed under expedited removal, he was allowed to remain in the country under supervised release.

Following his father’s deportation, Pedro moved in with his grandparents, who have lived in the U.S. since 1991. He grew up in West Liberty and played soccer for his high school team, participating in a state tournament last year.

Escucha Mi Voz, a faith-based immigrant rights organization supporting Pedro, said the former high school soccer player was initially held at the Muscatine County Jail. Over the weekend, he was transferred to a detention center in Pine Prairie, Louisiana, The Des Moines Register reported.

Tim Farmer, Pedro’s attorney, filed a 135-page stay of removal petition on July 7, but Pedro was already en route to Guatemala by the time he submitted it. Pedro later contacted his family from Guatemala City after he was deported, despite having no criminal record and holding a work permit.

Farmer’s stay of removal petition to ICE was supported by letters from faith, school and community leaders. Father Guillermo Treviño of St. Joseph Catholic Church, who was Pedro’s confirmation sponsor, described him as a respected community member, talented athlete and “a man of faith” with no criminal record.

Community members in West Liberty—including family, friends and faith leaders—organized a prayer vigil on July 6 in support of Pedro. Community faith leaders led the vigil at St. Joseph Catholic Church.

What People Are Saying

Francisco Pedro, Pascual Pedro’s grandfather, told The Gazette: “He doesn’t have any record, he doesn’t have anything bad about him. All he did was present himself to immigration enforcement, like they wanted, and he was taken.”

Tim Farmer, Pedro’s attorney, told The Des Moines Register: “I was hoping that with the holiday weekend that would benefit us some, in a sense that they wouldn’t deport him over the weekend. But obviously they did.”