Local News

Deportation protesters call for dismissal of charges against them, but case simply continued

More than two dozen supporters of a recently deported man called on Wake County prosecutors Monday to dismiss charges against them. But their own lawyer simply asked for their cases to be continued until April.

Posted Updated

By
Sloane Heffernan
, WRAL reporter
RALEIGH, N.C. — More than two dozen supporters of a recently deported man called on Wake County prosecutors Monday to dismiss charges against them.

But their own lawyer simply asked for their cases to be continued until April.

Samuel Oliver-Bruno had been taking sanctuary in a Durham church for nearly a year when U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents took him into custody in November during a visit to an immigration office in Morrisville. When supporters tried to stop the arrest, they were arrested as well.

"The kind of policies that our tearing our families apart and taking us out of our schools and workplaces and terrorizing our neighbors are unacceptable," Manju Rajendran said at a rally outside the Wake County Courthouse on Monday.

Oliver-Bruno's 19-year-old son, Daniel Oliver-Perez, was among the 28 people arrested in November, and he said he had to drop out of college and now works full time to support his family.

"The saddest part of the day is coming home and seeing my mom and dad speaking through Facetime," Oliver-Perez said.

Oliver-Bruno, who was deported days after his arrest, came to the attention of immigration authorities in 2014 when he was detained by U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents as he tried to enter the U.S. after a visit to Mexico.

At that time, he was released on a "Stay of Removal" to care for his ailing wife. Julia Perez Pacheco, who lives in Greenville, has lupus and other serious medical conditions.

Oliver-Bruno lived in sanctuary in the CityWell United Methodist Church in Durham for 11 months as he sought citizenship. ICE traditionally has not arrested people inside a church, hospital or school because of its sensitive location policy.

When he was arrested, according to ICE officials, his case had no outstanding appeals, so there was no legal basis for him to remain in the U.S.

This media cannot be viewed right now.

The group Sanctuary Beyond Walls organized Monday's rally, arguing that ICE tactics are incompatible with democracy and human rights.

"I believe that we need to love more and we need to be an example of hospitality to overcome that hostility and that hate," Rev. Ismael Ruiz-Millan said at the rally.

"We welcome all solutions that allow our neighbors to remain here," Rajendran said. "We welcome our undocumented neighbors, and that includes many of us who sat together with Samuel's family that day."

The protestors then filed into court wearing white as a sign of unity, but their case – and the justice they seek – was delayed for at least another month.

 Credits 

Copyright 2024 by Capitol Broadcasting Company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.