After more than three months of legal calisthenics, a former Springdale man was deported Tuesday to his native Dominican Republic.
Yancarlos Mendez, 27, was moved from the Jena/LaSalle Detention Facility in Jena, Louisiana, and flown to Santo Domingo. He had been held for three weeks in Louisiana after his transfer from another federal holding center in Morrow County, north of Columbus.
"We are sad, but unfortunately we cannot do anything else," Sandra Mendoza said.
The story of Mendez and Mendoza and her son, Ricky Solis, a 6-year-old paraplegic, captivated readers nationwide. Through social media, various updates on the case's twists and turns – ICE's flat rejection of their humanitarian plea – went viral.
Mendoza said Wednesday she has not told Ricky that his stepfather is now out of the country.
"He goes to school, and I don't want him to be more sad and not focus," Mendoza said. "He keeps crying and asking, `Where is Daddy?' The last time he talked to Yancarlos on the video call, he just kept asking, `Daddy, when are you coming home? Where are you?'"
The couple had become engaged shortly after the auto crash in February 2017 that left Ricky paralyzed from the waist down. His mother sustained serious injuries, including a broken arm and a broken leg, but has recovered.
The family is now separated, a key point protested by advocates who want changes to U.S. immigration laws. No resolution appears possible. The type of care Ricky requires is not available outside of the United States, Mendoza said, even in a developed country like Spain, where Mendez has dual citizenship.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials at the agency's Detroit office confirmed Mendez's removal. Mendez violated terms of his 90-day visa waiver as a visitor.
“Yancarlos Mendez-Perez entered the United States lawfully under the Visa Waiver Program (VWP) before violating the program terms by overstaying his visit for a period exceeding two years," ICE stated in an email to The Enquirer. "VWP participants waive their rights to a hearing before an immigration judge and are subject to detention prior to their removal. ICE had carefully reviewed his case and determined he was ineligible for any agency relief.”
The couple married a month ago in the Morrow County Jail in Mount Gilead, Ohio, where Mendez was held at the time.
Mendoza wept over the phone Wednesday evening and said she could not understand why her husband and Ricky's stepfather was deported.
"I just can't believe it," she said. "I am still in shock. But I knew this day was coming. "
After the car crash, Mendez and Mendoza lived in Ricky's hospital room for several months until the child's release and had to prove to the staff at Cincinnati Children's Hospital that they were capable of meeting all of the boy's complex medical needs.
Marriage to Ricky's mother legally made Mendez the boy's stepfather. The family's attorney's hoped marriage would boost his case to remain in the United States.
On Jan. 4, ICE officials on denied Mendez's appeal that claimed extreme hardship would be inflicted on Ricky, a U.S.-born citizen, and his mother if Mendez were deported.
On Jan. 12, a single U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals judge in Cincinnati granted a temporary stay of deportation for Mendez. The court wrote that the delay was granted "in order to provide sufficient time to consider our jurisdiction, as well as the motion."
On Feb. 7, a panel of Sixth Circuit judges overturned their colleague's ruling, writing, "The denial of a stay of removal is not a final removal order over which we have jurisdiction. Hence we cannot stay (Mendez's) removal because of any alleged defect in that order."
On Feb. 8, Mendoza and Ricky were driven by two of the family's ministers to Morrow County, where Mendez had been held for several weeks. Their pastor and one of their attorneys, Charleston Wang, performed the wedding. Sheriff's deputies did not allow Ricky to enter the secure area of the jail to see his stepfather. He sat in his wheelchair in the lobby with a few of the family's supporters.
The couple embraced for several minutes. They had not seen each other for 66 days, Mendoza said. Mendez is shown on security camera footage weeping in her arms. The Enquirer obtained the footage through an Ohio open records request.
On Feb. 13, the U.S. Supreme Court granted a temporary stay to allow Justice Elena Kagan, who has jurisdiction over the Sixth Circuit, time to review the case. Yet a little more than a week later, on Feb. 21, Kagan, without comment, denied Mendez's emergency appeal and refused to block his deportation.
Mendez entered the United States from Spain on the Visa Waiver Program. The Sixth Circuit wrote on Feb. 7 in its ruling that Mendez did not file an asylum claim.
Mendez had worked as an auto mechanic and financially supported Mendoza and Ricky. He was born in the Dominican Republic and has lived in Spain, where he was brought up and had previously married and divorced.
He was stopped by police in Butler County in November for driving without a license, his second such offense, and turned over to ICE shortly after that.
