We all can help to prevent the deportation of Julio Cesar Acosta, 50, a Long Island immigrant father who was detained by ICE last month even though he had no criminal record. We can help him to reunite with his family by signing a petition asking for his immediate release.
His wife and his three children including a newborn baby desperately need him. Acosta was the sole breadwinner for his family. He was working two jobs all day to pay the rent for their Baldwin one-floor apartment, and to feed his three children, ages 6, 1, and a new baby who was born the same day he was arrested. Without Acosta at home, his wife Daysi struggles everyday wondering where she will get money to pay expenses, as she is not able to work because she has to take care of the children.
Members of Make the Road New York (MRNY), the organization that is representing the Acosta family in this case, delivered 500 signatures last Thursday to immigration officials in Manhattan. Last week, MRNY and other advocacy groups held a rally in front of the Federal Plaza building protesting the detention of Acosta.
Protest in the city asking for the release of Julio Acosta.
“We are asking immigration to have compassion for this man, his children and his family, because he is not a dangerous person, but he is an exemplary father, and we need him to be back with his family,” said Walter Barrientos, Long Island lead organizer for MRNY.
Signatures are still being collected. People can visit the “Don’t Deport Our Dad” website to sign the petition. More people signing the petition would make the request even stronger, Barrientos explained. “We all have emotional crisis and make mistakes; we all have the right for a second chance,” he said.
