U.S. deports paraplegic boy's stepfather, caregiver
Mark Curnutte
CINCINNATI — After more than three months of legal calisthenics, a suburban Cincinnati man who had been one of two caregivers for a 6-year-old paraplegic boy was deported earlier this week to his native Dominican Republic.
Yancarlos Mendez, 27, of Springdale, Ohio, was moved from the Jena/LaSalle Detention Facility in Jena, La., and flown Tuesday to Santo Domingo, the capital of the Dominican Republic about 1,700 miles southeast of his U.S. home. He had been held for three weeks in Louisiana after his transfer from another federal holding center in Mount Gilead, Ohio, north of Columbus.
"We are sad, but unfortunately we cannot do anything else," said his wife, Sandra Mendoza.
Mendoza said Wednesday she has not told her son, Ricky Solis, that his stepfather is now out of the country.
► Feb. 13:Supreme Court is last hope for paraplegic boy's stepdad
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► Jan. 19:Immigrant's jailhouse wedding gets OK from sheriff
"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 an 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 that advocates who want changes to U.S. immigration laws are protesting. No resolution appears possible.
► Jan. 18:Ohio sheriff blocks jailhouse marriage of immigrant facing deportation
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The type of care Ricky now 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 had 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. 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, 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."
► Jan. 12:Deportation stay granted for caregiver 'daddy' of paraplegic boy
► Jan. 8:Despite social media outcry, paraplegic boy's 'daddy' to be deported
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 lawyer had hoped marriage would boost his case to remain in the United States.
• On Jan. 4, ICE officials 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 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals judge in Cincinnati granted a temporary stay of deportation for Mendez. The court wrote that the delay was granted "to provide sufficient time to consider our jurisdiction, as well as the motion."
• On Feb. 7, a panel of 6th 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, two of the family's ministers drove Mendoza and Ricky to the Morrow County Jail, where Mendez had been held for several weeks. Their pastor and one of their lawyers, 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 Cincinnati 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 6th Circuit, time to review the case. Yet 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 6th Circuit wrote Feb. 7 in its ruling that Mendez did not file an asylum claim.
► Jan. 5:ICE to move forward with deportation of paraplegic boy's caregiver
► Jan. 4:Paraplegic 6-year-old's 'daddy' faces deportation
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.
Police in Butler County, north of Cincinnati, stopped him in November for driving without a license, his second such offense. They turned him over to ICE shortly after that.
Follow Mark Curnutte on Twitter: @MarkCurnutte