Family seeks help releasing elderly loved one from ICE custody
LAFAYETTE, La. (KLFY) -- On April 1 the family of Jose Francisco Garcia Rodriguez, took to social media saying he was taken by ICE agents. Christian Riggs, who is the stepdaughter of Rodriguez, told her father’s story.
She explained he was on his way to work when he was flagged down at a Circle K near his home by ICE agents.
“He was immediately apprehended, placed in a patrol vehicle, later transferred to a van and later brought to the Pine Prairie ICE Facility in Prairie, Louisiana,” she said. “45 years ago. My stepdad, Jose Francisco Garcia Rodriguez, fled Cuba on a ship that the United States sent for refugees. He fled his country in fear of his government and for the opportunity to come to the United States and live a better life. Like many refugees at that time, he came here just with the clothes on his back, did not speak English, had no education, and struggled. In that struggle he made some poor decisions. He was punished for those decisions. He served his time, did very well, and decided that he would never make mistakes again like that.”
She explained how despite his past mistakes Rodriguez built a good life and raised a good family.
“For the last 43 years after that. Jose has lived a good life. He has raised a family with a wife," Riggs said. "He has worked hard labor jobs 40 to 60 hours a week. He has paid his taxes, Social Security. He has been a kind man, a good man. To know him is to love him.”
She described him as a funny guy who is lighthearted, who likes to make jokes and to be silly with the people that he loves. A kindhearted man who has let many people live in and out of his home when they were in need. She said her 73-year-old father has a heart condition and had open heart surgery just a few years ago and is the primary caregiver to her mother who has dementia.
She said, she and him were recently talking about his fear of being taken by ICE.
“Three weeks ago, we were talking, and he told me, 'You know, Kiki, I'm very afraid that they're going to come and get me and that they are going to kick me out of this country.' And I said, 'No, Papa, they're not coming for you. You're too old and they want bad guys and you're not a bad guy,'” said Riggs.
Riggs says Richard's family was not aware that something was wrong with his immigration status.
“For ten years now, we have tried to fix Jose's immigration status. Really, we didn't even know something was wrong. We thought that once he had paid his time, once he did everything that the authorities asked him to do, that that was it. He was done. Nobody told us he had been put on a removal list that was never explained but ten years ago, we realize something is wrong. He's not able to get a work permit and we decided to try to figure out what the problem was.”
She says the family was told by their elected official offices, as well as their lawyers, that given the current immigration status, "it was safer for Jose to not try to fix his immigration, but rather to lay low, to continue to work, to continue to live a quiet life and hopefully he wouldn't get flagged.”
Riggs and her family members are seeking assistance from elected officials and the public for awareness of Rodriguez’s story and release from ICE custody.
“I couldn't imagine how a 73-year-old man who has been allowed to be in our country for 45 years, raising a family, paying taxes, paying into Social Security, which he has never gotten, could possibly be a danger to our country,” said Riggs. “I understand that we have an immigration problem. I do. I understand that our country cannot harbor every single person that crosses its borders. It is a problem that has to be fixed with a surgeon's blade, not a machete. We have to look at the humans who are involved in this problem.”
If you want, you can view the full video of Riggs here.