A Malden, Massachusetts woman is speaking out after her husband was detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement while he was driving to work.
Leslie Perera Gonzalez broke down as she described the moment she learned her husband, Herman Escobar, was taken into custody on Wednesday.
“Everyone in this country has a reason to be angry,” Gonzalez said. “But I would like everyone to put the anger aside … and have compassion for me and my husband.”
Woman’s husband detained by ICE
ICE officials said agents used minimum force, claiming that Escobar was resisting arrest.
Gonzalez said she was on the phone with her husband when ICE agents surrounded his white pickup truck.
Video of Escobar’s detainment shows a struggle as agents tried to pull him out of the truck window. Gonzalez said she heard the window shatter over the phone.
“I heard him say, ‘Ow, you’re hurting me,'” Gonzalez recalled.
The 31-year-old is now being held in a detention center in Plymouth. Gonzalez said Escobar came to the U.S. from El Salvador 10 years ago for a better life and to escape the gang violence taking place there. He works as a roofer for a large construction company in Boston and was on his way to work when he was detained.
“My husband is a gentle soul,” Gonzalez said through tears.
ICE: Officers took “appropriate action”
ICE released a statement saying, in part, “The officers took appropriate action and followed their training to use the minimum amount of force necessary to resolve the situation in a manner that ensured the success of the operation and prioritized the safety of the public and our officers.”
Escobar’s attorney said he has a pending petition to become a permanent U.S. resident. Gonzalez is a U.S. citizen and sponsored his petition this year before he was detained. He has no criminal record.
“We have a federal court petition filed to protect his rights and to work to have him released,” said Maggi Moran, the managing attorney of the immigration unit at Greater Boston Legal Services.
Meanwhile Gonzalez, who is an attorney herself, is overwhelmed and fears for her husband’s safety.
“I work with survivors of domestic violence every day, and I never imagined violence would touch my home,” Gonzalez said. “If he cannot be released, please keep him safe.”
