___________City a sanctuary for immigrants, but not its airport (O'Hare Airport)
Reply to: comm-672282040@craigslist.org
Date: 2008-05-07, 6:48PM PDT
City a sanctuary for immigrants, but not its airport
Chicago is a sanctuary for undocumented immigrants thanks to a city ordinance passed in 2006. But if those immigrants happen to be wandering through O'Hare Airport, they're out of luck.
Fernando Lara Flores found that out the hard way -- two days before his wedding.
As the Sun-Times reported Wednesday, the undocumented Flores, 26, was arrested at O'Hare by U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers while picking up visiting relatives on April 24. Eight days later, he's still in a federal detention center at the McHenry County Jail.
As for Flores, "He feels frustrated," says his sister, 28-year-old Monica Lara of Lyons.
"He just wants to go back [to Mexico]."
Even though O'Hare is owned by the city, it's a port of entry for international travelers and thus falls under federal authority.
A Mexico native and longtime Chicago area resident, Flores was supposed to marry his fiancee, Lucia Rodriguez, last Saturday at St. Cletus Parish in La Grange. The celebration -- to which they'd invited 170 guests -- is on hold indefinitely.
Lara says Rodriguez lives in Brookfield, is also undocumented and would go with Flores if he's deported.
According to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Flores was not granted bond and is scheduled for a hearing before an immigration judge May 5.
The agency declined comment on the matter, citing the Department of Homeland Security's privacy policy.
- Location: O'Hare Airport
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PostingID: 672282040