LOS ANGELES — God is the bond that brought Jael Serrano Altamirano and her husband, Pastor Allan Altamirano, together.
“He supports me and our mission and what we want to accomplish and god’s work,” said Jael.
And so on their wedding anniversary, she sits alone in their Eastvale home looking at pictures and videos. He decorated the church himself, wanting to surprise her. But the real surprise for Jael has been that she is spending this anniversary by herself. “We were talking let’s celebrate next year and this is how we’re celebrating, away from each other. . . It hurts because no wife or husband is supposed to be celebrating separated," she said.
That’s because two weeks after getting married, Allan was arrested by immigration officials.
“There are no words, it doesn’t have to be how it was, you know.”
Allan was brought to the U.S. illegally when he was three. Then in 2004, at 19 years old, he traveled back to Mexico. Coming back, he told border patrol agents he had his residency, when he didn’t. The family said it was a misunderstanding. ICE said he lied and that he’s a serial immigration offender.
“He has no criminal record. He’s an amazing man. Father. Man of god. You know, not only me, our babies miss him but the whole congregation, the whole church,” said Jael.
But what worries Jael the most is that ever since he entered the detention center in Adelanto one year ago, his medical record has exploded in size. “Front and back, you’re looking at like 300 and something pages. He was hospitalized for a week due to his heart, his blood pressure goes very low,” she said.
Allan is 34, but Jael said his ailing health has visibly changed him. “He looks like he is like 50 years old.”
She thinks he is in danger of contracting Covid-19 and speaks out about it through the church’s radio station.
“We just want him to be out so he can get the care and medical attention that he needs,” she said.
Allan calls in at times. “Normally my wife and my babies would come visit us, visit me today and Sunday, but unfortunately due to the quarantine they’re not," he said.
More than 86,600 imprisoned individuals in the U.S. have tested positive for Covid-19 according to the Marshall Project. A 10 percent increase from last week. But it's not just those behind bars that are at risk, on August 2nd an 8th correctional officer in California died from Covid-19. Among prison staff in our state, there have been more than 1,800 cases of the virus. And there are currently 917 active coronavirus cases in ICE facilities across the nation. ICE has released more than 500 detainees due to the pandemic but Allan was not one of them. “We are officially on quarantine in this prison here. We have two sides that are on quarantine, so please keep praying for us,” he said.
So pray she does. Multiple times a week, Jael goes to their church and asks that Allan may remain healthy.
I ask her, how she gets through the night.
“I put his clone on the pillow and I hug it with my bible. And that’s what gets me through the night.”
God and faith brought them together once, now she hopes it will bring them together again.
Allan's legal team is appealing for his release.
According to ICE, all detainees are tested for COVID-19 upon intake, isolated, and monitored for 14 days in accordance with CDC guidelines. They receive a comprehensive exam within 14 days of arrival to identify medical, mental health, and dental conditions that require monitoring or treatment. All detainees, said the agency, can expect treatment in an adequate amount of time.
In addition, the agency sent us the following statement regarding Altamirano and his charges:
Allan Altamirano, 34, is an unlawfully present Mexican national and repeat immigration violator, who attempted to enter the United States on May 17, 2004, by falsely claiming to have legal status. U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers determined he did not have status to enter the country legally, and he was subsequently removed to Mexico, May 19, 2004. He illegally reentered the U.S., at an known time and location. Altamirano was apprehended by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) officers near Eastvale, California, Aug. 30, 2019. An immigration judge ordered Altamirano removed to Mexico, Oct. 24. He is currently in ICE custody pending the outcome of his appeal and subsequent immigration proceedings.
Aliens placed into removal proceedings receive their legal due process from federal immigration judges in the immigration courts, which are administered by the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR). EOIR is an agency within the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and is separate from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and ICE. Immigration judges in these courts make decisions based on the merits of each individual case. ICE officers carry out the removal decisions made by the federal immigration judges. For more information on EOIR, visit: https://www.justice.gov/eoir/.
The health, safety, and welfare of those in our care remain a top priority and concern for the agency. Detainees in ICE custody have access to daily sick call and 24-hour emergency care. This comprehensive medical care is provided, as determined by medical staff, to all individuals in custody to ensure timely access to services and treatment. ICE invests more than $269 million annually on the full spectrum of healthcare services provided to detainees.
We have reduced the population at Adelanto from 1,687 in January to approximately 930 as of today, which reflects a 45 percent reduction. We continue to take proactive measures to mitigate risks associated with the pandemic, including placing individuals on alternatives to detention (ATD) programs, suspending social visitation, incorporating social distancing practices with staggered meals and recreation times, and through the use of cohorting and isolation of new admissions into the detention network for 14 days before placing them into general population.
Due to the unprecedented nature of COVID-19, ICE continues to review cases of individuals in detention who may be vulnerable to the virus. Utilizing Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidance along with the advice of medical professionals, ICE may place individuals in a number of ATD options. Decisions to release individuals in ICE custody occur every day on a case-by-case basis. ICE custody determinations are made in accordance with U.S. law and DHS policy, considering the merits and factors of each case while adhering to current agency priorities, guidelines and legal mandates. When making such decisions, ICE officers weigh a variety of factors, including the person’s criminal record, immigration history, ties to the community, risk of flight, and whether he or she poses a potential threat to public safety.
The agency’s full response to COVID-19 can be viewed on the ICE.gov website.