Bronx, NY: Congressman Ritchie Torres (NY-15) tonight issued the following statement concerning the imminent deportation of Javier Castillo Maradiaga. Javier is scheduled to be deported Friday morning at 5AM. Although the deportation was halted earlier this week, a Texas federal judge on Tuesday barred the U.S. government from enforcing a 100-day deportation moratorium issued through executive order by President Biden. This has thrown Javier’s case into a legal nightmare.

“Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is exploiting a restraining order, by a Trump-appointed judge from the Southern District of Texas, as a pretext for rushing the deportation of Javier Castillo Maradiaga. The threat of removal is imminent.

Even though we have a new President, make no mistake: the vile anti-immigrant ideology of Donald Trump remains dominant at ICE, which is a soulless deportation machine that separates families and savages communities without regard for the human cost.”