Car Wash Open But 2 Workers Still Being Held

Above: East Greenwich Car Wash open for business Tuesday evening, Nov. 3. Photo by Elizabeth McNamara

Immigration officials picked them up at East Greenwich Car Wash Oct. 29

East Greenwich Car Wash on First Avenue reopened Monday, Nov. 2, after being closed Friday through Sunday following a visit by Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials Oct. 29. Jamie Perez, who was working at the car wash this past week, said his father, uncle and stepbrother were the ones picked up by ICE; all three are from Guatemala. His stepbrother, Gabriel Mendez Ajqui, was released within a day or so of his detention. He was back at the car wash this week, working with Jamie.

Perez, who was born in the U.S., said he wasn’t working when ICE showed up but was told five white SUVs pulled up and it was scary.

He said his dad – Francisco Perez Perez – was being held in Massachusetts and he was hopeful he would be released. They have hired a lawyer. He said he wasn’t sure about his uncle, Medardo Chingo Ajqui. According to ICE officials, Francisco Perez entered the U.S. illegally. He had pleaded no contest to driving after denial, suspension, or revocation of license, a misdemeanor. ICE said Chingo Ajqui also entered the country illegally and had been arrested for shoplifting in 2007. According to Rhode Island Court Connect, that charge was dismissed in 2016. Francisco Perez had no record in RI Court Connect.

“Every case is different,” according to Milagro Sique , chief executive officer at Dorcas International in Providence, which provides services for immigrants and refugees. Dorcas does not do legal immigration work, but Sique said they have clients “who may find themselves in this situation,” i.e. being picked up by ICE officials.

In general, she said, those who are detained are usually taken to the ICE offices on Jefferson Boulevard in Warwick for processing. From there, they might be moved to Massachusetts or New Hampshire or, Sique said, anywhere in the country.

“At that point, they should be able to have a hearing before a judge,” she said. “If someone has an [already opened] asylum case or maybe has a spouse who’s a US citizen, he has a pathway.”

Sique said ICE has been picking up individuals in Central Falls, Pawtucket and Providence on a regular basis but that typically they were looking for a specific individual. Rhode Island has not, up to now, seen the types of ICE raids that have taken place in other parts of the country. She said it may be that ICE was after a single individual at the car wash and picked up the others because they were there.

“If [a detainee] have an attorney, they can then make a case … and be eligible for a bond,” said Sique. “They could be released from a detention center … they don’t have to be in detention to continue their removal proceeding.”

Sique said it was important for people to know that they can put in for what’s called a “habeas petition,” if they feel they have been held illegally.

Car Wash Open But 2 Workers Still Being Held

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