A young adult from Bowling Green arrested this month by Immigration and Customs Enforcement is scheduled to make his first court appearance on Monday. Meanwhile, supporters of the recent high school graduate turned out Friday to voice their opposition to the federal government's actions.
About 100 people rallied for Ernesto Manuel Andres, 18, outside of U.S. Rep. Brett Guthrie’s office in Bowling Green.
Holding signs and waving American flags, protesters chanted, “Which side are you on, Brett? Which side are you on?”
Gail Woolgast wore a shirt that said “Free Ernesto." She said the recent high school graduate is a constituent of the GOP lawmaker, who she criticized for not intervening on his behalf.
“He’s just a fall in line Republican," Woolgast said. "He doesn’t stand up for his state.”
A sit-in was staged by a small group of demonstrators in the lobby of Guthrie’s office before they were told to leave by deputies with the Warren County Sheriff’s Department.
“In line with the House Committee on Ethics recommendations, Congressman Guthrie’s office has a long-standing policy of not interfering with individuals’ ongoing judicial proceedings,” a spokesman for Rep. Guthrie said in a statement emailed to WKU Public Radio.
Earlier this month, an estimated 200 people attended another rally in Bowling Green in support of Ernesto.
His supporters say he’s legally authorized to be in the U.S. through Special Immigrant Juvenile (SIJ) status, granted to youth who have survived abandonment, neglect, or abuse. ICE says the native of Guatemala entered the country unlawfully and doesn’t qualify for protection.
"His NTA, the notice to appear, they charged him with unlawful entry. If you're granted SIJ, that overrides any unlawful entry. That's why SIJ was created", said Luma Mufleh, founder of Fugees Family, which advocates for refugee and immigrant youth. "When he crossed into the country, he declared himself. We went into Office of Refugee Resettlement custody and they're the ones who released him, so that charge is bogus."
Ernesto is scheduled for a master immigration hearing Monday in Louisiana where he’s being detained. The hearing is procedural. A judge is expected to explain Ernesto’s charges, his rights, and outline the next steps in the process.
A bond hearing is expected to follow the immigration hearing. A GoFundMe established to post his bond, if granted, has raised nearly $30,000.
"I really thought this would have been over within 24 hours of him being detained," Mufleh said Friday at the Bowling Green rally. "I don't know. If the law is followed, he should be granted bond. If the law is followed, his case should be dismissed."
Warren East High School teacher William Compton, who has unsuccessfully challenged Rep. Guthrie in past elections, said Ernesto could be any one of his students.
“I thought about the students I teach in Warren County Public Schools and just terrified it could happen to them if they were in his shoes," Compton said. "Those students are like my children and I would want to make sure I fight for them each and every day.”
Ernesto graduated in May from the Teranga Academy, an institution within the Bowling Green Independent School District that serves students who are refugees and immigrants.
"Ernesto is all of us. Every person in detention right now who's been kidnapped and deported is every one of us," said demonstrator Lizzie, who asked that her last name not be used. "If they come for one of us, they come for all of us."
Ernesto Manuel Andres and his father, Julio Manuel Miguel, were arrested by ICE agents at their apartment in Bowling Green on June 4, despite the 18-year-old not having a criminal record or deportation order.
Ernesto will appear in court virtually Monday from the detention center in Louisiana where he's being held. Mufleh said she'll be there to bring him home if he's granted bond.
