Friends, family hold rally on birthday of man held on ICE detainer

BOSTON — Activists and friends of a Massachusetts Institute of Technology janitor facing deportation celebrated his birthday Monday outside the jail where he has been detained since July.

Francisco Rodriguez, who turned 44, waved from his cell at the Suffolk County House of Corrections in Boston.

He watched the group of about 30 gathered on a footbridge near I-93, playing mariachi music, singing 'Happy Birthday' and blowing out candles on a cake.

"It feels really bittersweet to show a lot of love and solidarity and music for someone who is detained inside and can’t come out," said Lily Huang, a community organizer for Massachusetts Jobs with Justice.

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Rodriguez, a father of three, had fled violence in El Salvador, arriving in the United States in 2006. He moved to Chelsea, was married, had children and became active in the community and a local church.

In 2011, Rodriguez's application for asylum was denied, but he was granted a year-long stay of deportation each year thereafter, through 2016, as long as he stayed employed, paid his taxes and checked in with immigration officials.

But this summer, Rodriguez, who has no prior criminal history, was denied another stay, ordered to leave the country or be deported. In July, he was arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement. He has since missed the birthday of his baby boy.

"This is really painful," said Yessenia Alfaro, Deputy Director of the Chelsea Collaborative, of the trauma Rodriguez's family has suffered. "It’s two months without seeing him. And especially for the mother who just gave birth, his wife, this is a situation that you don’t wish for any family to be split up."

Those gathered outside the jail on Monday stood on a footbridge near I-93 beneath Rodriguez's window, holding signs that read, "Free Francisco" and "Stop Separating Families."

Organizers rallied not only for the release of Rodriguez but also others detained by ICE.

Inmates in adjacent cells also waved from their windows, one holding a sign saying "thank you," in Spanish.

While the Immigration Board of Appeals reviews his case, Rodriguez is awaiting a hearing to determine his status in the country.

"I feel that we brought him a little bit of hope - hope that he needs at this moment that he's behind bars," Alfaro said. "And to let him know that he's not alone, that he has a community behind him."

Cox Media Group