Bronx Man Released from Detention, but Still at Risk of Deportation

A Colombian man, whose detention was considered a sign of President Donald Trump's heightened scrutiny of immigrants without legal status, has been released and is back with his family in the Bronx.

Juan Vivares crossed the border illegally from Mexico in 2011. He lost his final appeal for asylum last year, and was sent to a Texas detention center after checking in with an immigration agent in March in Manhattan.

At the time, Vivares' lawyer, Rebecca Press of Central American Legal Assistance, said his detention was unusual because he has no criminal record and his U.S. citizen wife had sponsored him for a green card. That application is still pending. But Immigrations and Customs Enforcement had insisted Vivares was deportable because he lost his asylum case.

Nonetheless, Press filed for a stay of deportation and Vivares was released this week by ICE.

After spending two weeks in a Texas detention center, Vivares said he was eager to resume life with his wife and baby.

"I'm looking to get back to my job, you know I can get my normal life and maybe we can think in the future to buy a house," he said.

Vivares must now wear an ankle bracelet while his lawyer pursues a new application for asylum and he waits for a decision on his family petition. His wife's union, 32BJ, held a celebration of his release on Thursday and invited reporters.

Press said it's significant that someone who was previously considered a low priority for deportation would now be detained.

"I hope that Juan's case serves to make the entire American public aware of how broken our immigration system is," she said, "and we get to a point where we are demanding change to make our immigration law more reflective of what we believe our values to be."