SEAFORD, Del. - A federal immigration judge on Jan. 20 ordered Victor Acurio Suárez, a developmentally disabled man living in Seaford, to be deported to his home country of Ecuador after denying his asylum application, following his September arrest by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) while he was looking for a job in a Lowe's parking lot.
According to his attorney, Kaley Miller-Schaeffer, Immigration Judge Dennis Ryan issued a voluntary departure order as part of the ruling.
"I want to be very clear, there is nothing voluntary about this order. Victor is detained. So, in effect, what happens is he would still be placed on an airplane by ICE and returned back to his country in Ecuador," Miller-Schaeffer said. "So the voluntary departure is just a legal technical term, but that's not how it operates."
She said an appeal has already been filed with the Board of Immigration Appeals.
"The judge's denial of the asylum application [is something] we disagree with at a fundamental level. We think there were several legal errors that the judge made, and for that reason, we are appealing the decision," Miller-Schaeffer said.
Miller-Schaeffer elaborated on what happens next.
"At this point, the next stage is that the Board of Immigration Appeals will issue us a briefing schedule where we're provided an opportunity to write our legal arguments, and the government will have a chance to respond as well. Then we wait for the Board of Immigration Appeals to make a ruling," she added.
She explained that, for now, Acurio Suárez will remain in ICE custody while the appeal is pending.
"Under the law, he is still pursuing his rights in his case. So he is not at this juncture able to be removed," Miller-Schaeffer said.
She also noted that it has been difficult to communicate with him while he's in detention.
"He still, I don't think, understands who I am. I don't think he understands what an attorney is or the role of an attorney... I try to check in with him, and he answers me as best he can, but it's very surface level," she said.
Miller-Schaeffer emphasized concerns over his detention.
"I, myself and his family, though I know, are very worried about his well-being and just the fact that he is so confused and doesn't understand where he is or why he's there, or why he's not with his family," she said. "At this point, he's over it. I don't think he views it as a vacation anymore, but he doesn't understand where he is."
She said his family is deeply concerned about the potential consequences of deportation.
"The family has great concerns that Victor is sent back because if there is no family, they have left in Ecuador to care for him. Victor is unable to live independently. He's always been in the care of his brother, and they're very concerned. We're not even sure exactly what it would look like. In fact, Victor in the family fled after the gangs set their house on fire, so he doesn't even have a house to return to in Ecuador. That's one of our primary concerns and why we are continuing to fight this case because the consequences are very serious," she said.
She noted that she has submitted two formal requests to ICE for his release on humanitarian parole, both of which were denied.
"In those requests, I have cited my concerns for his medical well-being. He also had medicine for unrelated to his disability, but just general, health reasons, and my concerns [are], is he getting adequate care, is he getting adequate attention," Miller-Schaeffer said. "ICE has, in their denials to me, simply assured me they are giving him proper care, but what that looks like, I'm not exactly sure, and they haven't provided me any specifics of what exactly it is they're doing."
She added that they are continuing to request his release on humanitarian parole.
"It would be the only mechanism that would allow Victor to be out of detention, and that's what we're hoping for," Miller-Schaeffer said. "We just ask, it's a matter of human dignity that he be allowed to pursue his appellate rights from the comfort of his home in the care of his family, which is the only care he's ever known."
Governor Matt Meyer, U.S. Senator Lisa Blunt Rochester, and U.S. Representative Sarah McBride have all publicly called for Acurio Suárez to be released from immigration detention.