A 25 -year -old Guatemalan man who had no previous police or criminal records, according to his family, was arrested by immigration agents and customs compliance with the United States on Monday at a service station in Framingham, Massachusetts.
The arrest took place around 6 in the morning at a Shell service station. Daniel Orellana was going to work when he was intercepted by ice patrols. Now, his desperate family demands justice, claiming that he was unfairly arrested.
“It is not fair that he is going through this and is treated as a criminal,” said Arquimedes Orellana, the young man’s father.
Orellana said ICE intercepted Daniel with his vehicles and asked: “Are you this person?”
“My son replied: ‘I’m not that person. I don’t know him’ … ‘Do you know him?’ “No, I don’t know him, I don’t know who he is, I don’t know what you’re talking about.
Enrique Martínez, a worker at the Shell service station, confirmed to Telemundo New England that the arrest took place inside the service station and that the vehicle was abandoned.
After several hours of search, his family managed to get Daniel’s vehicle, and that night they learned his whereabouts.
“We received a call from him saying that Ice had it,” said his father.
Zulema Alfaro, Daniel’s girlfriend, said she has been in contact with Daniel. “He has communicated with me, letting me know about the situation and that he was a misunderstanding, and said: ‘Ok, but we will take you anyway.'”
The Orellana family arrived from Guatemala that fled from violence there three years ago. Daniel was about to graduate with a law title, but he had to leave everything behind to emigrate to the United States for their own safety, but without documents.
“I am not against what the government is doing,” said Arquimedes Orellana. “I mean, I know that the government is working to improve the country. I mean, he wants to see the prosperous country, and that is excellent, but it is not fair to take innocent people, productive people for the country.”
A lawyer is helping the family with the case, and they expect news in the next few hours.
Daniel is being held at an immigration detention center in Plymouth, and his family hopes that this unfortunate confusion will be resolved so he can return home in the coming days.
Telemundo New England has requested ICE information about the arrest, but has not yet received an answer.
