LIVERMORE — At least 200 residents and demonstrators Wednesday night gathered at a rally to demand the release of a Livermore father who was detained by immigration officials last week.
The family of Miguel Angel Lopez gathered with fellow residents at the downtown Livermorium Plaza, waving signs with messages such as “Free Miguel” and “Bring Miguel Home.”
Immigration officials detained the man last Tuesday when he was reporting in San Francisco, his family said, which is a routine checkup Lopez did as part of his process toward citizenship.
A Livermore local, Lopez, 47, has lived in California for 27 years, after emigrating from Mexico. His wife, Rosa Lopez, said he is currently held in a detention facility in MacFarland in Southern California. His family said he worked as a welder and machinist at Wente Winery in Livermore, where he’d been employed for nine years.
“I have no idea what’s going to happen,” Rosa Lopez said in an interview Tuesday. “I’m hoping he gets released and he gets released here.”
She said the last few words she shared with Miguel Lopez last week before immigration officials took him into custody were Miguel asking her on the phone to “call my lawyer, I’m being detained,” she said.
She said his lawyer couldn’t attend the checkup that day, so she and Miguel had gone alone.
Later, he called her again and said he was being transferred somewhere several hours away from San Francisco.
No one in the Lopez family was told what he was being detained for, or for how long he would be held, Rosa said. Even Miguel doesn’t know why he got detained, she said.
Now, she said, she wants her husband to be returned home.
At a rally Wednesday evening, his daughter Stephanie Lopez choked back tears while speaking to a crowd of around 200 people in downtown Livermore. She spoke of his character, describing him as a helpful man, well-respected in the community.
“My dad goes out of his way to help everyone and is a friend to all,” she said.
In an interview with this news organization, she called their family’s situation “shocking.”
“This is something we would have never expected,” Stephanie said.
The family’s youngest son, Julian Lopez, 17, goes to the town’s Granada High School, where he will soon be a senior and play football as a defensive back. He said his father encouraged him this year to pick up the sport for the first time, never missing a game.
“I thought it wasn’t real until my mom started crying and told me,” Julian said. “I haven’t felt the same since.”
Supervisor David Haubert told this news organization Wednesday that his office connected the family to legal services, though they already had legal representation.
“We are making sure that his family has resources from the county, such as food, medical and looking to see if they need rental assistance,” Haubert told this news organization. “When you lose a family member’s income, it affects the entire family.”
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Droves of other community members chanted for Miguel’s release Wednesday evening, including dozens of Granada students and some teachers.
Though Miguel’s wife has visited him in MacFarland, they continue to have limited contact and are unsure what his future will bring.
“Hopefully, our voice is heard,” Rosa said. “He’s not a bad person. He should get an opportunity to stay here with his family.”