Vol. 74/No. 41      November 1, 2010

Mory had lived in the United States for more than 25 years. In 1986 he was accused of misdemeanor possession of 3.5 grams of cocaine. His attorney advised him to plead guilty to avoid a lengthy and costly court process, even though Mory insisted he was innocent. Mory was never informed that the charges could have consequences for his immigration status.

In 1999 Mory beat back the immigration cops’ first attempt to deport him, after spending a year in jail. In May 2004 immigration agents arrested him again. At the time he was the president of the United Steelworkers of America local at Foamex International in East Rutherford, New Jersey, where he was a machine operator.

After four-and-a-half years in prison, Mory won release on condition that he wear an electronic ankle bracelet and report regularly to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

While in prison Mory refused to give up. He filed a steady stream of lawsuits and protests against violations of his rights and helped other inmates do the same. He has continued to get coverage of his fight in the Spanish-language media, including an interview with Telemundo after his deportation.

On August 19, during one of his regular appointments with ICE, he was detained and taken to the Peruvian Consulate in Paterson, New Jersey. “The consul acted like he was an ICE agent. He told me if I did not hand over my Peruvian passport he would give the green light to ICE to deport me,” Mory said. “I asked to be allowed to call my lawyer, but he refused.”

Mory says he explained to the consul and the ICE agents that he still had a work permit valid until 2011 and several appeals of his deportation order before the courts. A statement from the Peruvian Consulate says that Mory was told he had to buy an airline ticket to Peru to “voluntarily” leave the United States by September 18.

On August 23, when Mory reported to the ICE office, the immigration agents asked him for his plane ticket to Peru. When he told them he didn’t have the money to buy one, they arrested him and took him to the Essex County Correctional Facility.

During much of the next two weeks the jail was on lockdown. Prisoners were not allowed family visits or use of the prison library, blocking Mory’s access to legal texts that could help him challenge his detention.

On September 8 ICE agents handcuffed him and took him to JFK airport. “They took the handcuffs off as we approached the airport,” Mory said. “Before boarding the plane I turned around and said, ‘Wait a minute. I have something to say’.” He then gave a speech to other passengers in the waiting area explaining the injustices in his case.
 
 
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