By Luisa Loi
La Conner Community News
After nearly 100 days in the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Northwest Processing Center in Tacoma and 25 years of waiting for a green card, Conway’s “unofficial mayor” is a free man and a permanent legal resident of the United States.
Juan Martinez was released on Nov. 5, a few hours after a hearing that took place inside a small courtroom accessible via a series of locked doors.
There, Judge Matthew Davidhizar concluded that all of the necessary paperwork had been submitted and that his immigration status could finally be adjusted. Upon hearing this, Martinez turned around to look at his friend Tim Ferrell, smiling.
“All right sir, congratulations,” Davidhizar said.
A changed man
In an interview Friday, Martinez said he couldn’t believe he was finally free, as he had been fearing another disappointing hearing.
After eating a small piece of chicken once per week and sleeping with the lights on for three months, he treated himself to a whole chicken and slept in the dark.
Now, as he is back to his home in Skagit County, he is grappling with his new life and seeing his name on various news outlets. Friday, as he grabbed breakfast at McDonald’s, he was approached by an individual who recognized him from KIRO7.
On top of that, he has to assess how much money he owes and pay rent and bills after three months away from work.
At the detention center, Maritinez said poor living conditions took a toll on his mental health. There, staff referred to him exclusively by a number, 488, which he believes is a way to make detainees “feel like nothing.”
“You don’t even have a name here,” he said. “You’re garbage.”
Martinez expressed his gratitude for all the support and solidarity he received from people who called elected officials, shared his story and made a donation to the GoFundMe that Ferrell set up to help him cover legal costs and other expenses. The fundraiser can be found at gofundme.com/f/support-juan-before-september-4
As he enjoys being called by his name and being free again, he can’t help but feel sad for the friends he made in Tacoma, some of whom have been locked up for a year or more. Moving forward, he wants to help them and raise awareness of what is happening across the country.
“I see how bad it is inside,” he said.
Clearing up paperwork
Martinez came to the United States from Mexico over 25 years ago. Though he was undocumented, his U.S. citizen brother filed a green card petition in 2001, before the deadline to qualify for Section 245(i) of the Immigration and Nationality Act. This law allows certain undocumented immigrants to apply for a green card from inside the United States and to remain in the country, even if they overstayed their visa or came without one.
Although this rule still applied to his case and allowed him to be in the country, immigration agents arrested Martinez on July 30, just outside of Super Duper Foods in Conway, where he works.
On Oct. 8, a bureaucratic issue extended his detention by another month. While Martinez’ biometric information was submitted to the federal government, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services needed a separate request to “do its part,” attorney Lisa Seifert explained in a previous interview.
In the end, the issue was resolved internally, but caused “unnecessary delays,” Davidhizar said on Nov. 5.
Davidhizar also said Martinez’s previous arrests for driving with a suspended license and supplying liquor to minors were “very minor in nature” and that “the pros outweigh the cons.”
An assist from Rep. Larsen
Seifert said she felt relieved and surprised her client was finally released.
“Even though we knew this was coming, I thought there could still be some kind of delays or shenanigans, so I’m very glad the judge made his order,” she said. “It’s terrible what had to happen to this undocumented guy… But it’s surely a happy end to this story. Not very many people win their cases in here… Not very many people can walk out of the detention center approved as a green card holder.”
Seifert also credited Rep. Rick Larsen’s office for inquiring about the issue.
“If those people hadn’t intervened, I think things would have just sat where they were filed, and nobody at USCIS would have cared about this application that was sitting there, waiting to get finished so it could go to the court,” she said. “I’ve heard that, oftentimes, this can take three months, and that was why I was alarmed.”
In a statement sent to La Conner Community News on Oct. 29, Larsen did not comment on the casework with his office due to privacy concern, but stated his commitment to “keep fighting to cement humanity into U.S. immigration policy and to make sure ICE follows the same rules as every other law enforcement agency.”
“Juan Martinez is a good neighbor and a hard-working taxpayer who has done everything right,” he stated. “Juan deserves to return to his community in Conway and receive his green card as soon as possible.”
Luisa Loi is a general assignment reporter for La Conner Community News.
