Hunter
07/08/25
A West Liberty immigrant detained after showing up for his ICE check-in appointment last week has already been deported.
The Gazette reports Pascual Pedro was marked for expedited removal when he arrived in the United States with his father in 2018, but was allowed to stay under supervised release. His father was deported, and Pedro moved in with his grandparents, who have lived in the United States since 1991. He attended his annual check-in meetings with ICE, had no criminal record, and had previously been approved for a work permit.
He played soccer for West Liberty High, regularly attended church, and worked for his grandfather’s siding company.
Last Tuesday, Pedro was detained at a regular check-in appointment at the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Office in Cedar Rapids. The family got an immigration attorney, who compiled a stay of removal that included letters of support and a petition signed by more than 1600 people.
Iowa City nonprofit Escucha Mi Voz reports when the attorney, Tim Farmer, arrived at the ICE offices in Omaha to file the stay, Pedro already in Guatemala City, calling his family after landing there.
The group is planning a demonstration in front of the Cedar Rapids ICE office Wednesday at 10am; they also will be in Davenport on Thursday to visit the offices of US Representative Mariannette Miller-Meeks and US Senator Joni Ernst to ask them to intervene on Pedro’s behalf.