Wise County father with work permit detained by ICE after local traffic stop
Wise Co. father detained by ICE after traffic stop
ICE detained a Decatur man who has lived in North Texas for 30 years after he was pulled over for a traffic stop. FOX 4's Lori Brown has more.
DECATUR, Texas - A Wise County father and business owner is now in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody after he was pulled over for a traffic stop.
The 59-year-old has a valid work permit, but the Wise County sheriff told county commissioners that sometimes that’s not enough.
Wise County father detained by ICE
What we know:
Decatur business owner Rosendo Lira was arrested by Wise County sheriff’s deputies during a traffic stop on July 17.
Lira’s daughter, Synthia, told the Wise County Messenger that her father was preparing for a quinceañera for her younger sister, Bella, who has Down syndrome.
He went to get gas for his lawn mower and was pulled over three minutes from their house. The Wise County Sheriff’s Office then transferred Lira to ICE custody.
What they're saying:
Sheriff Cary Mellema is standing by his department’s decision to pull Lira over and transfer him to ICE custody despite his valid work permit.
During a county commissioner’s meeting on Monday, Sheriff Mellema argued that valid employment authorization does not necessarily mean that someone’s immigration status is legal.
"I’ve got this also, another email that hundreds of families in our community are living in fear. What would you?" Commissioner Colby Shawn said.
"Well, if you are here legally, you shouldn’t be living in fear. Yeah, okay. I’m sorry that they feel that they can’t leave their house. Okay, I enforce the law. I am not a judge, right? That’s for a judge to decide. But I can’t help people in those feelings. We do not again go door-to-door and go into people’s business. That’s ludicrous. Yeah, not if we have a legal reason to stop and talk to you or there’s a crime being committed, we will investigate," Sheriff Mellema replied.
In a statement to FOX 4, the sheriff said his deputies discovered that in 2020, a federal immigration judge issued a final order of removal for Lira. That’s why he was turned over to ICE custody.
The Board of Immigration Appeals will determine if Lira may remain in the U.S. or if he will be deported, the sheriff said.
The other side:
Lira’s friends and family have set up a GoFundMe page to help raise money for his legal expenses.
His lawyer claims he had no valid reason to be detained because he had not violated the terms of his work permit and committed no crime. An appeal for his final removal order has been pending for several years now.
Lira’s family expects he’ll miss Bella’s quinceañera, which is unfortunate because they said he is one of her biggest advocates.
Dig deeper:
Sheriff Mellema said he has multiple deputies who are trained through a federal partnership with ICE. The 287G program delegates state and local law enforcement officers to perform immigration officer functions under ICE’s direction and oversight.
About 95% of the people who have been arrested recently on immigration charges live outside Wise County and are traveling on Highway 287.
The Source: FOX 4's Lori Brown gathered information for this story from the Wise County Messenger, a Wise County Commissioner's Court meeting, and statements from the Wise County Sheriff's Office.