About 200 community members protested Wednesday, calling for the return of Ernesto Manuel Andres, who was detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents on June 4.
Andres, 18, is currently being held at a detention center in Louisiana. The Guatemala native was arrested despite a Special Immigrant Juvenile status granted to youth who survived abandonment or abuse, and Deferred Action from the Department of Homeland Security, which protects him from deportation until 2029, reported the Lexington Herald-Leader.
Protesters met at the intersection of Russellville and Morgantown roads on Wednesday, June 11. SOKY Indivisible, a local advocacy group, organized the protest over Facebook, drawing a crowd of close to 200 people.
Cathy Severns, an advocate and one of the organizers of SOKY Indivisible, said the protest serves as a way to show support for the immigrant community and Andres.
Severns said that organizers of SOKY Indivisible planned the protest in just one day.
“We want the immigrant community to know that we stand with them and that this is important to us,” Severns said.
Mayor Todd Alcott observed the protest from the Huck’s gas station parking lot alongside Bowling Green Chief of Police Michael Delaney.
“We’d love to have Ernesto come home,” Alcott said. “From what I understand, he has the legal paperwork to do that, and if that is so, he deserves due process.”
Alcott said once there is further confirmation on the state of Andres’ legal status, he, along with Bowling Green Independent Schools Superintendent Gary Fields, Judge Executive Doug Gorman, City Attorney Hilary Hightower and the city management team, will work to provide aid to Andres.
“We would request information and as a united team we would try to help Ernesto to the best of our ability,” Alcott said.
Delaney said there has been no communication between ICE and BGPD. He said BGPD was made aware of Ernesto’s detainment through members of the community.
“When I learned about Ernesto’s detainment, it was through a citizen who contacted me the night he was detained,” said Delaney.
Delaney said, whatever the outcome of Ernesto’s detainment may be, he hopes Ernesto is given due process.
William Cruz saw the protest while driving past and decided to stop and join in. Cruz said he is Mexican and comes from a family of immigrants and although is documented, his home in South Carolina was raided by ICE as a child.
“I had to support my people,” Cruz said.
Luma Mufleh, an immigrant and refugee advocate, has been leading the charge in advocating for Ernesto’s return.
Mufleh started a GoFundMe with the goal to raise money to help support Ernesto and his family, and in just two days, the $20,000 goal was met. The goal has been raised to $30,000, with money beyond Andres’ estimated bond amount going to Andres’ family or others in similar situations, the GoFundMe page states.
“The response blew me away in Bowling Green,” Mufleh, an Ohio resident, said. “The bulk of the donations came in $25 increments, a lot from people in Bowling Green.”
Mufleh said Ernesto’s bond hearing is currently set for June 18.
