“My father is a working class person through and through.” Julio Irungaray Sr. was swarmed by ICE agents upon arriving home from a night shift last week in Salt Lake City, where he has lived and worked as a cook for more than 35 years after coming to the US from Mexico on a humanitarian visa. He was promptly transferred to a Wyoming county jail, where he now faces deportation. He lives with diabetes and other health complications that require medical care. Irungaray’s two children say they’ve been targeted by law enforcement in the past due to their activism around federal immigration terror and police brutality. His community is demanding his immediate release and due process rights, as Irungaray’s immigration case was under review at the time of his arrest and his petition for residency had already been approved. “He said, ‘Don’t be distressed, but please be careful,’” Irungaray’s son Julio Jr. told community members after speaking with his father by phone. “ICE told him that it didn’t matter if he was hiding right now because ICE is closely watching everybody in the community. He said never stop fighting because if we stop, then ICE is going to continue abusing us.”

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