Derby immigrant gets 2-year stay

Luis Barrios looks at his 16-year-old son Lester during a press conference held by Luis' immigration attorney Erin O'Neil-Baker, at his home on Chestnut Drive in Derby, Conn., on Wednesday, May 3, 2017. Barrios, a native from Guatemala, has lived in the US for 25 years, and was was just two days away from being deported. Barrios has been granted a 30-day stay with help from U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy, U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal and U.S. Rep. Rosa DeLauro. less Luis Barrios looks at his 16-year-old son Lester during a press conference held by Luis' immigration attorney Erin O'Neil-Baker, at his home on Chestnut Drive in Derby, Conn., on Wednesday, May 3, 2017. ... more Photo: Christian Abraham / Hearst Connecticut Media Buy photo Photo: Christian Abraham / Hearst Connecticut Media Image 1 of / 36 Caption Close Derby immigrant gets 2-year stay 1 / 36 Back to Gallery

HARTFORD — Luis Barrios, of Derby, thought the ankle bracelet the U.S. Department of Homeland Security was using to monitor him might have broken Friday morning.

Instead, federal officials told the 52-year-old sanitation worker he would be free from deportation for at least the next two years, while he fights to win refugee status.

After a whirlwind chain of events this month that included activist demonstrations at the federal building in Hartford and requests by Connecticut’s congressional delegation to head off his forced return to volatile Guatemala, Barrios returned the monitoring device, then joined his daughter, Jessica, and their attorney for a news conference in the State Capitol.

“I’m very happy,” a tearful Barrios said of the phone call that got him looking at the bracelet. “I was surprised this morning. I was at my first job in the morning when they called me. They said as soon as possible come here to check in. I checked my bracelet and it was working fine. They gave me the extension.”

Barrios hugged U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., who made the announcement to reporters while Barrios was still finishing paperwork a few blocks away.

Barrios holds no animosity toward those who think he doesn’t belong.

“I know so many people in this country who believe in Jesus Christ, who open the door for everyone,” Barrios told reporters after the news conference.

“This good news is tempered by the fact that we need to be vigilant and continue to make the case for his asylum, which we will do,” Blumenthal said. “This decision gives us a reprieve to make the case for his asylum, because his return to Guatemala would put him in jeopardy of death, torture, serious injury, and he has been in this country for almost 25 years, working hard, playing by the rules, raising a family, his children are all U.S. citizens.”

On May 3, Barrios received a 30-day stay of the deportation order from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

“This is an extraordinary result of extraordinary efforts from many different levels,” said Erin O’Neil-Baker, Barrios’ immigration attorney. “We have the allies, the advocates, the Congress people doing so much great work and we’re so ecstatic.”

She said there is a pending case before the Board of Immigration Appeals. “It just goes to show you that this case has merit and we now are able to pursue the merit of this case.”

Barrio’s daughter, Jessica, said the family can now relax. “My father doesn’t have to worry, to check in every Monday and have that fear of going back to his country,” she said.

Blumenthal warned that immigration rules are getting tightened under the Trump administration.

“The policy previously was that priorities for deportation would be given to undocumented people in this country with serious criminal records,” Blumenthal said. “And now there is, in effect, a deportation dragnet imposed on everybody, regardless of criminal record, who may be in this country illegally.”

kdixon@ctpost.com; Twitter: @KenDixonCT