Elmer Flores, Kimberlin Lemus and their two kids (Photo: Kimberlin Lemus)
Immigrant advocates are calling for changes to ICE enforcement practices at public assistance sites in North Carolina after a family was torn apart while trying to get food assistance.
Elmer Flores took the day off work on March 9 to bring his pregnant wife to her appointment at the Mecklenburg County Health Department in Charlotte.
His wife, Kimberlin Lemus, couldn’t drive due to a high-risk pregnancy. She’d already missed an earlier appointment to receive nutritional support services, so Flores drove Lemus and their two children to the county’s office for the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children, or WIC.
The couple are originally from Honduras and had been living in Charlotte for about seven months. Flores was not in any process to get legal residency or citizenship. Immigrants who are in the country illegally are not eligible for government assistance programs, but children are eligible for help if they were born in the U.S.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents approached Flores’ vehicle while he was searching for parking. He called Lemus, who was already inside the office with their children. She said she could hear officers telling her husband to exit the car.
Lemus didn’t hear from Flores again until he was already in detention, she said Thursday at a press conference organized by advocacy group Siembra NC, whose members assisted with translation.
“I really would like my husband to not be deported, to be able to remain in the U.S. and to be here to support me and my girls, especially my little girl who’s going to be born soon,” Lemus said in Spanish.
Flores, 27, was moved to Folkston ICE Processing Center in Georgia later that same week, where he is currently detained. He does not have a criminal record, according to Siembra NC.
“He’s very desperate,” Lemus said. “He’s saying that there’s no room there, that they get about 200 people every day.”
The center has a capacity of about 550 people, according to the Global Detention Project.
ICE did not immediately respond to NC Newsline’s request for comment.
Lemus said she hasn’t sought legal help because she can’t afford it. She hasn’t been able to work due to her high-risk pregnancy. Flores was the family’s sole source of income through his job at a company installing fiber optic internet service.
“If he had gone to work that day, he might still be with me,” Lemus said.
The couple hadn’t seen activity of any kind outside the building, Lemus said, but later realized ICE agents had been driving around and looking inside cars.
Mecklenburg County Commissioner Susan Rodriguez-McDowell apologized to Lemus about the situation.
“Thank you for sharing your story,” Rodriguez-McDowell said, speaking as an attendee at the press conference.
After the incident, people inside the office were afraid to leave for hours, according to Siembra NC staff.
The workers were alarmed. A security guard told Lemus not to leave the building, and another worker said if they’d known ICE was there, they would’ve done anything they could to prevent what had happened, according to Lemus.
“These cases are deeply concerning because people are being detained at places where they go to support their families,” said Siembra NC defense manager Andreina Malki. “Our leaders must declare these essential service sites off-limits for immigration enforcement. No one should have to choose between feeding their child and losing their freedom.”
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