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RALEIGH, N.C. – An immigrant who had sought refuge in a church in North Carolina for 11 months was arrested Friday during an appointment with immigration officers, prompting more than one dozens of supporters to block a van from the forces of order and to be arrested themselves. A 47-year-old Mexican national, Samuel Oliver-Bruno, was arrested at an immigration office in the Raleigh area, according to a US press release on immigration and customs.
The rights group Alerta Migratoria NC said in a statement that Oliver-Bruno had taken fingerprints so he could ask to stay in North Carolina with his wife and son. He lives in the CityWell United Methodist Church in Durham since the end of 2017 year to avoid the penetration of immigration officers, who usually avoid arrests in the United States. churches and other sensitive places.
ICE said Oliver-Bruno, who has lived in North Carolina for two decades, had no legal basis for living in the United States and had exhausted his "vast" remedies. Oliver-Bruno pleaded guilty in 2014 to using false documents to try to return to the United States after a trip out of the country, according to court documents.
Dozens of protesters came to the federal immigration office in Morrisville hoping to deter authorities from arresting Oliver-Bruno. Alerta Migratoria said that Oliver-Bruno had been arrested and put in a van after entering the office. Supporters were arrested while they were trying to block the van.
The Morrisville Police Department issued a statement that he was called to the scene because the crowd, though peaceful, had refused to allow immigration officers to flee with Oliver-Bruno. The department said it attempted to defuse the situation, but the protesters ignored two orders to disperse before the arrest.
Online booking records indicate that at least 20 protesters were arrested at the immigration office under the indictment of non-dispersal and resistance officers.
CBS affiliate, WNCN-TV, says the arrested people include Ernesto Barriguete.
"We have done nothing but sing and pray, and sing and pray, letting them know that we disagree with what is happening," said Barriguete.
Alerta Migratoria said that Oliver-Bruno had filed with US Citizenship and Immigration Services a request to avoid deportation. The group's statement stated that he had been asked to come forward for a biometric selection as part of the application and that he knew he had to "risk being detained" .
The lawyers said the Oliver-Bruno family had "recently been threatened" in his home country, Veracruz, Mexico, where drug cartels are in operation. They said he feared for his safety when he was deported.
Pamela Wilson, spokesperson for the USCIS, said the agency usually could not discuss individual applications for deportation postponements.
WNCN reports that supporters of Oliver-Bruno have announced plans to continue fighting for him and his family.
"It's even more of an injustice than being released and still in detention," Noah Rubin-Blose said.
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