Allen Park Man Given Second Chance With Federal Immigration Reform
ALLEN PARK (WWJ) -- The President's new immigration plan is keeping one Allen Park family together.
Giovanni Fuentes, 28, was due in court Monday for a deportation hearing, but now due to the Barack Obama-backed enforcement changes, the feds are closing his case.
For Fuentes, the process to stay in the United States began a couple of years ago with immigration coming to his work and detaining him for three months, leaving his wife and their young daughter -- both US citizens -- to fend for themselves.
Monday could have brought disaster, Fuentes' lawyer, Marshall Hyman explained.
"We were preparing for a deportation hearing that was supposed to take place Monday morning at the immigration court in Detroit," Hyman said. "This option that will at least give him the next three years to get a work permit, possibly permission to travel and they maybe come back and get his green card."
Fuentes' wife, Vanessa, said that there were dark moments for the family, but the phone call brought her an immense amount of joy.
"I literally jumped off my feet," Vanessa Fuentes said. "People around me were looking at me like, 'are you crazy, what is wrong with you.'"
The presidential reprieve allows for Fuentes to stay in the country and allows him to pursue his green card. Fuentes faced the prospect of being sent back to El Salvador after 10 years in the U.S., along with the gangs that threatened his life.
"The gangs have grown so much over there, our culture, our people are scared," Vanessa Fuentes said. "They're fearful. That's why so many people are scared to go back to our country."
MORE: Immigration Reform: What Obama's Executive Action Means For Michigan