Rodriguez is a Honduran native who entered the United States illegally some time ago. That fact alone makes him a candidate for deportation.
But the Rodriguez case highlights an immigration conundrum and shows how far the federal government will go to entrap and detain people to meet its goals.
After coming into the country, Rodriguez, by all accounts, has done everything right. He reported to immigration officials who fitted him with an ankle bracelet to monitor his whereabouts, a common practice for those who come into the country without legal status. He did regular check-ins with government officials and sought asylum because he feared for his safety in his violent and dangerous homeland. The asylum process can often take years to complete.
He’s a barber and a member of the West Charleston Church of the Brethren in Tipp City, WYSO reported. (A church spokesperson told me the family didn’t want to comment further.)
ICE called Rodriguez, told him he didn’t need his bracelet anymore, and he should come to the Blue Ash, Kentucky office to have it removed. Officials didn’t tell him that he would be arrested and sent to the Butler County (OH) Jail, where he’s being held, jail records show.
Donald Trump vowed to fix a broken immigration system that let too many people enter the country illegally. He said he would target illegals who committed crimes, either here or in their home country, for deportation.
Americans, rightfully, cheered and supported those goals because they want immigrants who commit crimes, violent or nonviolent, deported, according to a Pew Research Center poll.
Conversely, just 15% of Americans want immigrants with a job deported, and 14% believe parents who have children in the country should be forced to leave.
There’s the problem.
What does America do with immigrants like Rodriguez, a working man here illegally but pursuing a legal path to stay in the country? The justice system does grind slowly. Is it fair to grab good people and throw them in jail even though authorities are within their rights to do so? Is it fair to tell Rodriquez and others to play by one set of rules and then change them?
There’s more complexity that speaks to the poll results. Rodriquez came here with his wife, who now has a work permit, and their son. But while here, the couple gave birth to a daughter, which conferred birthright citizenship to the young child.
Authorities could arrest and deport the mother and son since they’re not citizens.
But what about the little girl?
The immigration system is a mess, and lawmakers have shirked their responsibility by not fixing the system. While I don’t agree with all of Trump’s tactics, it’s hard to blame him for trying to do something.
But in doing something, the Trump administration has overcorrected and discarded the values Americans hold dear, like due process, adhering to the rule of law, and especially, fairness.
Rodriquez appears to be the opposite of Kilmar Garcia, who has become a cause celeb among Democrats. The Maryland man was wrongfully deported to El Salvador, and Team Trump has so far refused all court orders to bring him back. Democrats say he’s the poster child for due process, while Republicans allege he’s a wife-beating gang member.
The Rodriguez case seems more straightforward and easier to rally around. Barber. Churchgoer. Married family man going through the asylum process.
And he’s in jail.
Americans demand fairness.
What’s happening to Rodriguez isn’t fair. Or just.
Ray Marcano’s column appears on these pages each week.
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