Stay of Deportation Filed For Undocumented Immigrant Ricardo Fierro, Currently LULAC-WI Council 347 President

Fierro, a long time Racine community resident was taken into custody by ICE last week.

By H. Nelson Goodson

Hispanic News Network U.S.A.

July 30, 2018

Racine, WI - On Monday, a Stay of Deportation was filed with the Immigration and Customs Enforcement/Enforcement and Removal Operations Office in Chicago (ICE/ERO) seeking bond and temporary release for Ricardo Fierro, 39, who was taken into custody by ICE agents on July 24th at his residence. Fierro is being held at the Dodge County jail while being process for deportation.
The ICE/ERO is expected to decide whether to release Fierro pending a decision for deportation or allow him to seek legal status as an extraordinary case in several weeks, according to his attorney.

Fierro lived with his fiancé before his arrest and has five U.S. born children of his own ages, 17, 14, 9, 5 and a 4-month-old and his fiancé has two children ages 16 and 17.

According to a press release on Monday from the Racine Interfaith Coalition (RIC), Fierro was elected president of local LULAC Council #347 of the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC), and enthusiastically participated in a host of multiple volunteer activities.  

Jaime Alvarado, President of LULAC-WI Council #346 when contacted on Monday by Hispanic News Network U.S.A. (HNNUSA), he released the following statement, "He has no criminal record and already has dozens of support and letters of character from elected officials and community leaders. I recruited him to become member of LULAC this winter and he later became the President of Council 347."

RIC says that, Fierro is best known in the Racine community as the former local director of the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. In recent years, Fierro served on the City of Racine Mayoral Advisory Board, Immigration Task Force Chairman for the Racine Interfaith Coalition, the Racine Unified School District Middle School Transformation Committee and the RUSD Diversity and Equity Task Force. 

"There are few people more dedicated to the Racine community than Ricardo Fierro," said Linda Boyle, co-president of the Racine Interfaith Coalition, which represents 27 local churches in a press release. "As the father of seven children of U.S. citizenship, and a responsible son and brother, Ricardo's detention has presented an unimaginable hardship to his family and loved ones."

Family members working for Fierro's release have received more than fifty letters of support which include United States Congressman Luis Gutierrez, Racine Mayor Cory Mason, Former Racine Mayor John Dickert, Racine Unified School District Superintendent Eric Gallien, Racine County Executive Jonathan Delagrave, Wisconsin State Representatives Greta Neubauer, Peter Barca and JoCasta Zamarippa, WISDOM State Executive Director David Liners, along with religious leaders and clergy from across the state. 

Fierro arrived with family members in the U.S. in 1995 with a valid visa at the age of 16. He overstayed his visa and was later deported at the age of 19 when he returned to Mexico as a humanitarian act to get needed medicine for his older seizure ailing brother, but was taken into ICE custody when he re-entered the U.S. illegally. Fierro was cited in December 2015 for driving without a valid license for a second offense (a misdemeanor charge, found guilty by plead of no contest) and in February 2018, Fierro was cited for driving without carrying a valid driver's license (penalty: money forfeiture), according to Racine County Court records.

A prayer vigil and rally for Fierro will be held on Wednesday, August 1, 2018 at 6:00 p.m. at Monument Square in Racine, WI, according to Boyle.