Activists Call For Release Of Waukesha Father Who Illegally Immigrated To US At 13

Immigrant advocates are calling for the release of a Waukesha man detained during a check-in with immigration officials in Milwaukee this week. Some attorneys say it’s unusual that the father of four drew the attention of immigration officials only months after a traffic stop.

Family and supporters of Franco Ferreyra gathered Tuesday in front of Milwaukee’s office for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, where he was arrested, to demand his release from Dodge Detention Facility.

Ferreyra has been living illegally in the United States for more than 16 years, first entering the country in 2001 under the Visa Waiver Program. The program only allows people to enter the country without a visa for 90 days after which visitors can be sent back to their native country. Ferreyra, who was 13 when he came to the U.S. from Argentina with his father and sister, married and had children since then.

Family members said Ferreyra’s only previous recorded encounter with law enforcement was in 2013 when he was ticketed for driving while intoxicated — a civil forfeiture in Wisconsin.

“He doesn’t really have anything waiting for him in Argentina,” explained his father Alfredo Ferreyra in Spanish. “His world is here, he is very well liked in the community. He isn’t a risk to society.”

Matthew Luening, Ferreyra’s attorney, said ICE officials came after his client just months after Ferreyra was cited for driving without a license.

“I’ve seen that happen quite a bit lately where there’s a rather benign encounter with law enforcement for something like driving without a license, but it turns into information being shared with Immigration and Customs Enforcement,” Luening said.

Ferreyra was working with immigration officials for months to sort out his legal status, Luening said, adding that his client would qualify for status under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program.

Still, a spokesman for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security said in a statement that Ferreyra was released in February under an order of supervision and that he overstayed a temporary visit and is slated for removal.

For activists groups like Voces de la Frontera, the sequence of events further reinforces the idea that immigration officials are using the courts to target non-violent immigrants living in the country illegally for removal.

Ferreyra’s ex-wife, Alysha Ferreyra, said her children don’t understand that their father is detained because of his immigration status.

“(The children) said, ‘Well, what does that mean? So?’ and then I say, ‘Well, we were born in Waukesha, Wisconsin, and he was born in Argentina,’” she said. “And they just start crying.”

In the meantime, Ferreyra will be seeking asylum, Luening said.