Darvin Colón Herrera, a 38-year-old Honduran who taught mathematics in Puerto Rico, describes how the morning of October 23 of last year began like any other: he was heading to the school where he worked when agents of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detained him. Agents demanded his passport, which was at his home, so they took him to his residence in San Germán; he believes he was already under surveillance.
They also arrested his wife, a 37-year-old Dominican woman. The couple was moved from Mayagüez to Aguada and then to Guaynabo, where they spent four days, before Colón Herrera was transferred to the controversial Caimanes migrant detention center in Florida, where he was held for 30 days. The couple arrived in Puerto Rico 18 years ago through an athletics scholarship at the Universidad Interamericana, married seven years ago, both hold graduate degrees, and had no criminal records; they were awaiting completion of their permanent residency process.
After months of legal proceedings, thousands of dollars in bond payments and electronic monitoring with an ankle bracelet, a judge’s order ended their plans in Puerto Rico. The pair had to cross borders to reunite abroad and start over. San Juan mayor Miguel Romero will meet Tuesday with federal authorities over migrant community concerns in the capital.