UNITED WITH FRANCISCO… UNDER DEVELOPMENT
WHO’S FRANCISCO AGUIRRE?
Francisco Aguirre, founder and Executive Director of VIVA Inclusive Migrant Network, is an influential and brilliant leader in the immigrant rights and labor movements, a refugee from El Salvador, a long-time Portland resident, a talented musician, a Lutheran pastor-in-training, and a devoted father of two (US citizen) teenage daughters. He has also experienced the horror that far too many Central American parents know: Grieving a senselessly murdered child. Cruelly, he also faced years in prison for fleeing his own potential death in El Salvador, and he now faces the possibility of deportation.
SANCTUARY, PERSECUTION, AND FAMILY TRAGEDY
In September 2014, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents came to Francisco’s home and tried to arrest him without a warrant and separate him from his family. Francisco then publicly sought sanctuary at Augustana Lutheran Church in Portland, Oregon. He stayed for 81 days, until an agreement was reached to allow him to leave the church in safety.
Afterwards, in a deeply unusual and likely political move, the Department of Justice (DOJ) charged Francisco with re-entry fifteen years after the fact. He had been deported to El Salvador in 2000, from which he had originally fled due to extreme violence against him and his family by the military, and from which he was compelled to flee once again.
Two weeks after Francisco and his family left the church, Department of Homeland Security (DHS) investigators came to their home to question and harass them about food stamps. Moises, Francisco’s eldest child, hid under the bed while the investigators questioned his dad and step-mom. Afterward, Francisco tried to reassure Moises that the DHS agents weren’t after him, but Moises was left traumatized by the situation. Moises kept begging to go back to El Salvador because he was scared of ending up in DHS custody. Finally, in July 2015, he flew back.
On February 2, 2016, Francisco received the worst news any parent could hear: Moises had been murdered in El Salvador. Reports are that two gunmen were ordered to kill him. The investigation is ongoing but the chances of finding the perpetrators are unlikely given that people don’t want to cooperate out of fear of retaliation… Moises was just 19 years old.
FRANCISCO’S ONGOING LEGAL SAGA
In June of 2016, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) dropped the prosecution against Francisco. This meant Francisco was no longer facing prison time and an unjust criminal reentry charge. More than a hundred organizations signed support letters, thousands of individuals signed petitions, and cities around the country held rallies and vigils demanding that the charges be dropped. This was an important victory in his case and it was hoped that it would serve as an example for the DOJ to stop prosecuting refugees escaping violence.
But less than one week later, ICE was up to its old tricks.. Rather than giving Francisco the opportunity to argue his case for asylum/withholding of removal before an immigration judge, ICE served him with a “Notice of Intent to Issue a Final Administrative Removal Order” (FARO), a little-known maneuver in which an ICE agent orders a non-citizen to be deported without even the limited judicial oversight provided by immigration court.
Francisco is appealing ICE’s attempt to deport him through a Final Administrative Removal Order to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals. In the meantime, Francisco is eligible to work, but there is obviously a great deal of economic and emotional stress on his family.
THE LATEST UPDATES ON FRANCISCO’S CASE
Francisco’s court hearing has been postponed until December 2025. Public support and advocacy will be essential! This section will be filled in with various ways that people can advocate for, and support, Francisco. Stay tuned!
DONATE TO HELP FRANCISCO AND HIS FAMILY!
A GoFundMe campaign is being organized to help with expenses associated with his legal situation, and also to keep his family economically viable during this stressful time. This campaign will go live soon and we will post a link here. Stay tuned!