Francisco's Story:
UPDATE #2:
Francisco is appealing ICE's attempt to deport him through a Final Administrative Removal Order to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals. In the meantime, he continues his activism! Today, the New York Times published a Letter to the Editor from Francisco about his story. Additionally, he was prominently featured in a recent human rights report about reentry prosecutions. Francisco is now eligible for a work permit, but he does not have the money to pay the application fee. Please donate to his new fundraiser and keep signing and sharing the petition!
UPDATE: Important Victory with DOJ but the Fight Continues with ICE!
Great news, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has dropped the prosecution against Francisco! This means Franciso is no longer facing prison time and an unjust criminal reentry charge. Now, it’s up to us to double-down on our efforts and get ICE to end its harassment of Francisco Aguirre and his family.
With your help, more than a hundred organizations signed support letters, thousands of individuals signed petitions, and cities around the country held rallies and vigils demanding that the charges be dropped. This is an important victory in his case and we hope that it will serve as an example for the DOJ to stop prosecuting refugees escaping violence.
Less than one week later, ICE is up to its old tricks. Rather than giving Francisco the opportunity to argue his case for asylum/withholding of removal before an immigration judge, ICE served him with a “Notice of Intent to Issue a Final Administrative Removal Order” (FARO), a little-known maneuver in which an ICE agent orders a non-citizen to be deported without even the limited judicial oversight provided by immigration court.
We are now launching the second phase of the campaign. Please sign and share the petition demanding that ICE allow Francisco to present his strong refugee claims to an immigration judge and stop terrorizing this family!
(Original Petition Information Below)
Francisco Aguirre is an influential and brilliant leader in the immigrant rights and labor movements, a refugee from El Salvador, a long-time Portland resident, a talented musician, and a devoted husband and father. He is also experiencing the horror that far too many Central American parents know: Grieving a senselessly murdered child. Cruelly, he faces years in prison for fleeing his own potential death in El Salvador.
Francisco built a life in the United States after surviving and escaping horrific violence in El Salvador. In December 2013, his 17-year-old son Denis Moises Escalante Aguirre, known as Moises by his friends and family, made the journey from El Salvador to join his father without informing him. Francisco got a call from Border Patrol agents saying they had his son, but they refused to give him any further information. Francisco spent three weeks calling everywhere looking for Moises before the government finally contacted him again. It took another month to get Moises released, who was kept in a "shelter" that he described as being just like a jail. He never discussed the details of his experience there, but was clearly traumatized.
After immigration agents (ICE) attempted to raid his home and separate him from his three children, the other two of whom are U.S. citizens, Francisco publicly sought sanctuary at the Augustana Lutheran Church in Northeast Portland. Moises was terrified and said he didn't want to end up in DHS's custody again, but Francisco reassured him that he had a an open asylum case and that he was safe in Oregon. In clear retaliation for his seeking protection with the faith community, the federal government began prosecuting Francisco for returning to the United States country after being deported more than FIFTEEN YEARS ago.
Two weeks after Francisco and his family left the church, DHS investigators came to their home to question them and harass them about food stamps that they had applied for to feed their little daughters. Moises hid under the bed in terror in his room while the investigators were questioning his dad and step-mom. Afterward, Francisco tried to reassure Moises that the DHS agents weren't after him, but Moises was shaking in fear. Not even a round of his favorite game of soccer could make him feel better.
Moises kept begging to go back to El Salvador because he was too scared to end up in DHS custody again. Finally, in July 2015, he flew back.
Francisco describes what happened: "February 2, 2016 at around 10pm, I got a message on Facebook where someone was letting me know that my boy was kill by two men. I did not believe it. I started looking for news to see if there was something that talked about it, but no there was nothing. I tried to get in touch with him but there was no answer. I kept calling and that’s when the police responded and told me it was true. They explained to me that he was shot 16 times by two different guns, his legs almost fell apart from his body and the only information they have from the people who were at the scene was that two men called his name when he was playing soccer. When he answered, they called him over, told him that someone ordered them to kill him, and they start shooting him. Police say that they will investigate but we know that they won’t do it. People back there are scared to talk about it because they will be in danger if they say anything." Moises was 19.
He, his wife Dora, and their little girls need the community to defend the moral imperative to provide sanctuary for those in need. Moises's tragic death also illustrates the necessity of DHS granting temporary protected status (TPS) to Central Americans who have fled violence so that they too won't be murdered.
Francisco is a pillar of the Portland community. He was the worker center coordinator for the VOZ Workers’ Rights Education Project, which is a worker-led organization that empowers immigrants and day laborers to gain control over their working conditions through leadership development, organizing, and community education. Through his work, he has helped workers collect $500,000 in stolen wages, improve health and safety labor standards, and organize neighborhood clean-ups. Moises often volunteered with him. Francisco is a passionate advocate for people’s rights and is a musician who sings for social justice causes. Francisco is also a trailblazer of the national movement advocating for the rights of day laborers and has worked closely with the National Day Laborer Organizing Network (NDLON).
More than 118 labor, faith, immigrant rights, and civil rights organizations have already joined together to demand that the Department of Justice drop its unfair charges against Francisco.
Historia de Francisco:
Francisco Aguirre es un líder brillante e influyente que forma parte de los movimientos de migrantes y derechos laborales, es un refugiado de El Salvador, un músico talentoso, un residente de Portland desde hace mucho tiempo, además de ser un esposo y padre dedicado. En este momento, él también está pasando por el horror que demasiadxs padres/madres centroamericanxs sufren: El dolor de perder a un hijo que fue asesinado sin sentido. Cruelmente, en este momento Francisco está enfrentando una condena de varios años de prisión por haber huido de su propia muerte potencial en El Salvador.
Francisco construyó una vida en los Estados Unidos después de sobrevivir y escapar de la terrible violencia en El Salvador. En diciembre del 2013, su hijo de 17 años de edad, Denis Moisés Escalante Aguirre, conocido como Moisés pos sus amigxs y familia, hizo el viaje desde El Salvador para reunirse con su padre sin informarle. Francisco recibió una llamada de la patrulla fronteriza para informarle que tenían a su hijo pero se negaron a darle cualquier información adicional. Francisco pasó tres semanas llamando a todas partes en busca de Moisés antes de que el gobierno finalmente lo contactará de nuevo. Tuvieron que esperar otro mes para obtener la libertad de Moisés, mientras estuvo en un “albergue” (“shelter”) que él describió como una cárcel. Moisés nunca discutió los detalles de su experiencia allí, pero estaba claramente traumatizado.
Después de que agentes de inmigración (ICE) intentarán hacer una redada en la casa de Francisco y separarlo de sus tres hijxs, dos quienes son ciudadanas estadounidenses, Francisco busco santuario públicamente en la Iglesia Luterana Augustana en el Noreste de Portland. Moisés estaba aterrado y decía que no quería acabar otra vez en custodia del Departamento de Seguridad Nacional (DHS por sus siglas en inglés), pero Francisco le aseguró que él tenía un caso de asilo abierto y que estaba seguro en Oregon. Como represalia por haber buscado protección con la comunidad de fe, el gobierno federal empezó un proceso legal contra Francisco por haber regresado a los Estados Unidos despues de haber sido deportado mas de QUINCE AŇOS atras.
Dos semanas después de que Francisco y su familia dejarán la iglesia, investigadorxs de DHS vinieron a su casa para cuestionarlxs y acosarlxs sobre estampillas de comida (food stamps) por las cuales habían aplicado para poder darles de comer a sus dos hijas pequeñas. Moisés, lleno de terror, se escondió debajo de la cama de su cuarto mientras lxs investigadorxs estaban cuestionando a su padre y madrastra. Más tarde, Francisco trató de tranquilizar a Moisés diciéndole que no lo estaban buscando a él, pero Moisés estaba temblando de miedo. Ni siquiera su juego favorito, el fútbol, ayudaba a que Moisés se sintiera mejor.
Moisés siguió suplicando que lo dejaran regresar a El Salvador porque tenía mucho miedo de volver a caer en las manos de DHS. Finalmente, en Julio del 2015, Moisés voló de regreso a El Salvador.
Francisco, su esposa Dora, y sus hijas pequeñas necesitan a la comunidad para defender el imperativo moral de proporcionar refugio para lxs necesitadxs. La muerte trágica de Moisés también demuestra la necesidad de que DHS conceda el estatus de protección temporal (TPS por sus siglas en inglés) a personas centroamericanas que han huido de la violencia para no terminar muertxs.
Francisco es un pilar de la comunidad de Portland. Fue coordinador del centro de trabajadores de VOZ Proyecto de Educación Sobre Los Derechos del Trabajador (VOZ Workers’ Rights Education Project), una organización, dirigida por los propios trabajadores, que empodera a migrantes y jornalerxs a que tomen control de sus condiciones de trabajo por medio del desarrollo de liderazgo, proceso de organizarse, y educación comunitaria. Por medio de su trabajo, Francisco ha ayudado a trabajadorxs a recuperar $500,000 en salarios robados, a mejorar estándares de salud y seguridad en el lugar de trabajo, y a organizar limpiezas de vecindarios. Moisés a menudo participaba como voluntario en las actividades del centro. Francisco es un defensor apasionado de los derechos de las personas y es un músico que canta sobre causas de justicia social. Francisco también es un pionero del movimiento nacional enfocado en abogar por los derechos de los jornalerxs y ha trabajado cercanamente en colaboración con la Red Nacional de Jornaleros y Jornaleras (NDLON por sus siglas en inglés).
Mas de 118 organizaciones laborales, organizaciones de fe, de derechos de los migrantes, y de derechos civiles ya se han unido para exigir al Departamento de Justicia (DOJ por sus siglas en inglés) que retire los cargos injustos contra Francisco.
Por favor, únase con nosotros a pedir al DOJ que retire los cargos contra Francisco, para que él pueda llevar en paz el duelo por la muerte de su hijo, y a pedir al DHS que otorgue el TPS a personas centroamericanas, y así nadie más tenga que llorar por la muerte de un ser querido causada por la crueldad del sistema migratorio. Por favor, si también puede donar en la pagina de recaudación de fondos establecida por NDLON para apoyar los gastos funerarios de Moisés y gastos de manutención de la familia durante este tiempo horrible se lo agradeceremos de todo corazón.