SYRACUSE -- A Syracuse Hispanic community leader is being held in a detention center as his supporters fight his possible deportation.
The family of Juan Mejia say he was arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents at his home in Clay on October 13th. His mother Dana Marquez says the family was told it has something to do with Mejia's guilty plea to a misdemeanor charge in 2001. Marquez told CNY Central's Jim Kenyon if Mejia is deported, "it would be bad for his kids...they adore him...he's got a daughter that passed away her grave is in Cicero."
Mejia's brother, Jose Guerrera says the family immigrated to the United States in 1986 when Juan was 13 years old. Guerrera says Mejia is classified as a "permanent legal resident." Guerrera is upset with the manner in which ICE agents can take immigrants out of their homes. "It's not just him, there's a lot of other people that they've been doing this to ...and breaking a lot of families apart. It's just not right."
Mejia is well known in the hispanic community. He goes by the name "DJ Chino" on a local radio station. Mejia is the Youth Development Director at the Spanish Action League, and is a board member of the League of United Latin American Citizens.
LULAC and Mejia's supportershave begun a petition drive seeking his release. Luze Encarnacion says they are still trying to find out what led to his arrest but many suspect he got caught up in a program called Secure Communities in which law enforcement automatically supplies arrest information to immigration officials. "It's violating their (human) rights ...that's not their job."
Contacted by phone, Mike Gilhooly of the Regional Office of Immigration and Customs Enforcement said they "don't generally release information about people in custody to protect their privacy."
Friday, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement public information officer Ross Feinstein issued a statement on Mejia's case, saying:
“Juan Mejia was arrested by the ICE Criminal Alien Response Team in an effort to protect public safety in and around the Syracuse area. He has been charged with an immigration violation and will have a hearing before an immigration judge. He has a previous state conviction for sexual misconduct with a minor, and several serious impaired driving convictions. He is currently serving jail time in Oswego County for the latest conviction. It is the mission of Ice’s Enforcement and Removal Operations branch to arrest and remove from the country individuals who through their criminal convictions pose a threat to public safety and the community.”
