As attorneys continue to plead for a stay of deportation for an Ecuadorian man currently in sanctuary in Connecticut, his family spoke out Wednesday on his behalf. They stood outside of the federal building in Hartford which houses a local office of Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Nelson Pinos has been in sanctuary for 328 days -- living in the basement of a downtown New Haven church since he was ordered to leave the country last November.
His eldest daughter Kelly is asking ICE agents to put themselves in her father’s shoes.
“How would you feel if you were getting separated from your own family? Wouldn’t you try everything to be back with them?” she said.
Kelly Pinos said she just got a job at a Branford McDonald’s to help support her mother, sister, and brother since her father can’t work.
Nelson’s attorney said the hardship the family is suffering strengthens his case for a stay of deportation. “If they grant it, he would be able to leave the church right now, and so that’s really the basis for filing," said Tina Colon-Williams. "ICE is allowed to consider all sorts of factors, not just the technical ones, but the whole circumstances – including humanitarian concerns and how his family is doing.”
Supporters and leaders in the religious community kept vigil outside of the courthouse Wednesday night. Thursday morning in a show of faith in honor of Pinos, they plan on offering donuts to employees coming in for work.
