Two Long Island brothers were left shocked and confused after federal agents had them deported to El Salvador, as their lawyer called it unfair they had been removed from “the only home they have ever known” despite having done nothing wrong.
“We are not a threat to the country. We are not criminals,” said Jose Lopez, 20.
He and brother Josue, 19, spoke from El Salvador to reporters via an internet link set up at their lawyer’s East Islip office on Thursday.
“We did nothing bad,” added Josue Lopez. “We always followed the law.”
The brothers from Central Islip were detained by federal immigration agents in March, their lawyer Ala Amoachi said. It occurred during what the brothers believed was a routine visit to Federal Plaza in Manhattan.
The young men were later moved first to a facility in upstate New York, then to Louisiana. On May 7, they were placed on a plane for El Salvador.
“When they closed the door of the airplane, I wanted to cry. It was over,” Jose said.
The Lopez brothers were 10 and 11, their lawyer said, when their mom brought them across the U.S. border in 2016. The family applied for asylum, claiming they were trying to escape violent gangs in El Salvador.
“The public should recognize these children came with no control over their circumstances. This is the only home they have ever known,” said Amoachi.
Over the next nine years, Amoachi said immigration officials denied the brothers’ asylum request three times. But they continued to pursue other avenues to remain in the country and checked in regularly with immigration officials.
“They are good people,” the boys’ mother, Alma Lopez, said through a translator.
Alma Lopez remains in the U.S. with another son who is said to be disabled.
“I just ask that they have another opportunity to return to this country,” the mother said.
During their time in the U.S., the brothers built lives in Georgia and on Long Island. Josue was due to follow in his older brother’s footsteps and graduate from a Georgia high school later this month.
The media office for U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement did not respond to an email for comment on this case.
“I was hoping for them to see us for who were are right now, what we have done,” Jose Lopez said.
The brothers’ lawyer said she will continue to pursue their case, hoping to reverse the deportation on humanitarian grounds. She has posted a petition on change.org, asking for their return.
For now, the Lopez brothers have been living with a family friend in El Salvador, saying they are afraid to leave the home and are worried about their future plans to work as a welder or financial planner.
“I still have faith and hope we might get a second opportunity to get back to the country and pursue the dreams we have,” Jose Lopez said.
