CHICAGO (WLS) — Sergio Serna Ramirez and his wife Kristina were on a business trip in Michigan back in May.
The couple said they took an accidental wrong turn that took them down a path that has since divided their family.
Now, a Chicago-area family is desperately trying to get a husband and stepfather, who they say was detained by ICE, back home.
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“We adhered to every regulation, completed every requirement, and now our lives are in turmoil due to a single error,” said Kristina Ramirez.
On May 28, while checking on construction projects related to their small business, Sergio Serna Ramirez and his wife Kristina mistakenly ended up near Canada in Michigan. There, U.S. Customs Border Patrol detained both of them, even though Kristina is a U.S. citizen. She was let go after spending three days in detention.
“When we were detained, my husband, they said, ‘oh we’re going to let him out in 48 hours,'” she said.
But nearly three months later, she says her husband still remains in a detention center at the Monroe County Jail near Detroit.
“My husband is neither a murderer nor a criminal. He is a caring and kind individual,” Kristina Ramirez asserted. “I’m extremely upset and angry about the injustice in this situation. It is simply wrong for them to hold him.”
Sergio’s relatives note that he has lived in the Chicago area for over 20 years and has a pending U Visa application, along with eligibility for permanent residency through his marriage. On Wednesday, his family, along with community leaders, called for his release based on humanitarian parole.
“This story is a personal tragedy for one family but also highlights a system that has lost its way,” stated Ed Yohnka, Communications and Public Policy Director for the ACLU of Illinois.
“We’re here demanding his immediate release because his detention is unjust,” Ald. Byron Sigcho-Lopez said.
Kristina says the past few months have taken on toll on their family, but not their determination to fight to bring him home.
“Without him, I’m heartbroken. I’m torn,” she said. “It’s just totally unfair, not right.”
Sergio’s attorney says he is awaiting a final court hearing next week that could end in an order of removal.
ABC7 Chicago has reached out to U.S. Immigrations Customs Enforcement around Sergio Serna Ramirez’s case, and they have not responded to the request.
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