Franco Ferreyra overstayed his entry into the United States when his 90 days were up under the visa waiver program. That was in 2001. He's lived in Waukesha longer than he lived in his native country of Argentina. Now he awaits deportation in an ICE detention facility in Dodge County. Ferreyra would be eligible to apply for DACA, but the fate of that program and Ferreyra's future remain unknown.
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A Family’s Future Unknown
Frederica Freyberg:
In tonight’s closer look, Congressional attempts at passing an immigration bill failed this week. Among the measures in the legislation was a renewed hope for immigrants eligible for the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program. One Waukesha man could have been eligible for DACA but now fears deportation. Marisa Wojcik has the story.
Marisa Wojcik:
When Alysha Ferreyra woke up on June 11, she didn’t know that the father of her children would be gone by the end of the day.
Alysha Ferreyra:
There you go, honey. Nice job.
Marisa Wojcik:
Her ex-husband, Franco Ferreyra, walked into the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Office in Milwaukee with his attorney for a routine check-in, but didn’t walk out. He was arrested and taken to the Dodge County Detention Facility, where he is still being held. Ferreyra’s attorney, Matt Luening, says technically ICE was operating within the law, but it was still a surprise.
Alysha Ferreyra:
He wouldn’t have walked his client willingly into the ICE Immigration office if he knew that his client, Franco was going to get detained.
Marisa Wojcik:
Ferreyra came to the U.S. from Argentina in 2001, when he was just 13. He came on the Visa Waiver Program, which expired after 90 days. He’s lived in Waukesha ever since and attempts at finding a legal status have failed.
Alysha Ferreyra:
We got married in 2011, went through the process. We just got a denial letter just saying that we weren’t able to get his legal residency.
Marisa Wojcik:
Ferreyra’s attorney doesn’t know why Immigration began to pursue him now. But he has a theory. In September of last year, Ferreyra was cited for driving without a license.
Alysha Ferreyra:
From there, it kind of seemed like everything kind of snowballed into the Immigration kind of, on his tail, showed up at his sister’s house, at his place, and at his work.
Marisa Wojcik:
Immigrants’ rights advocates worry that law enforcement and immigration officials can use minor traffic stops as a conduit to deportation. But Dan Baumann of the Waukesha Police Department says that’s far from the case. A person’s legal status is irrelevant when it comes to routine contacts and they do not check in with ICE. Immigration and Customs Enforcement asserted that people with criminal records are more of a concern to them. They could not confirm why Ferreyra came to be on their radar. But other unknowns loom larger for Franco.
Alysha Ferreyra:
He’s been here for 18 years. He’s been in the United States longer than he’s been in Argentina. He doesn’t have a home in Argentina. His home is here. His kids are here. His whole life is here in Wisconsin.
Marisa Wojcik:
Ferreyra’s attorney is hoping a pending ruling by a federal judge to renew DACA applications will be Ferreyra’s best chance at remaining in his Wisconsin home. For more information about ICE detention centers in Wisconsin, visit our partners at WisContext.org.
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