Naples Man Faced Wrongful Deportation And Jeff Van Zandt Of The Faett Firm Saves The Day
http://www.nbc-2.com/story/35068834/naples-man-faced-wrongful-deportation
A Naples man claims he was nearly wrongfully deported and sent back to a country he hasn’t lived in for almost 50 years. He was pulled over for a traffic violation and ended up in a detention center.
“I come from Matamoros, Mexico. We came when I was like six years old,” said Jose Antonio de la Garza.
De la Garza moved to America as a permanent resident with his parents, grandparents, and siblings. His dad was a United States citizen. He doesn’t have any family left in Mexico but has a wife, three daughters and two granddaughters who are all U.S. citizens.
“Yeah. I want to stay right here,” de la Garza said.
In 1990, de la Garza was charged with possession. He pleaded no contest and was sentenced to probation. At that time, immigration laws were different, so he wasn’t entered into any sort of immigration system.
Fast forward to January and everything changed.
“They just took me,” de la Garza said.
De la Garza was brought to the Collier County Jail for a traffic violation. Deputies told him he was being sent to get his record checked, but it turns out he was being sent to Krome Detention Center in Miami.
“It blew my mind to know that this could happen under this system and this was happening today in America,” said Jeff Van Zandt, de la Garza’s attorney.
After two months in ICE custody, Van Zandt was able to get in front of an immigration judge and argue that de la Garza deserved to stay in the United States. He won.
“To see the look on his face that he deserves to stay here and just the emotions involved with that, I was just thankful to be involved in that,” Van Zandt said.
Today, de la Garza is back home with his family but said he’s fearful. He’s stopped driving because he doesn’t want this to happen again.
“I was scared inside there,” de la Garza said.
