Kenis Lopez Gonzalez. Courtesy photo.
SHAKOPEE, Minn. (KFGO-WCCO) — Calls are continuing for the U.S. government to bring a man back to Minnesota months after they deported him to central Africa.
Kenis Lopez Gonzalez had been living and working in Shakopee, Minnesota, when federal agents arrested him outside his home this past January during the height of Operation Metro Surge.
Lopez Gonzalez, an asylum seeker from Nicaragua, was instead deported to the Central African Republic.
A federal judge ruled last week Lopez Gonzalez would return while his case played out, but the U.S. Department of Homeland Security has challenged the ruling, presenting another delay.
On Friday morning, from Lopez Gonzalez held a virtual press conference. He says his conditions in Africa aren’t safe, he’s contracted malaria, there’s a language barrier and poor conditions have kept him from being able to communicate with family.
Still, local supporters with CTUL, or Centro De Trabajadores Unidos En La Lucha, say they’re hopeful he’ll be brought back in time to spend the holidays with his family.
“The best-case scenario is that they facilitate his process immediately and he comes back home and he’s able to spend the holiday break with his family in Minnesota,” said Lucho Gomez, CTUL’s director of campaign strategy. “That’s what we’re hoping for.”
“They tried to deport him to Nicaragua, they had a trial. He won the trial. They want to deport him to any other country, they have the legal authority to do that, but he’s entitled to the same procedures,” said Simon Sandoval Moshenberg.
This is an extremely complex legal battle that’s being fought through the federal court system. But one thing supporters are emphasizing is that even if Lopez Gonzalez is brought back to the U.S., his proceedings would still continue — but he’d be home, and able to be with his family.
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