Father fighting to get son returned from CECOT prison after immigration raid
NEW YORK (WABC) -- When 19-year-old Merwil Gutierrez was swept up in a raid in the Bronx while his father was at work, his dad thought the worst that would happen was that he'd be deported back to Venezuela.
He never thought he'd end up in the CECOT prison in El Salvador.
"He's not Salvadoran, he's not a gang member, he's never been accused of a crime," said Wilmer Gutierrez, Merwil's father. "He doesn't even have a tattoo. He doesn't belong there."
Gutierrez brought his then-17-year-old son with him on his journey from Venezuela in 2023. Merwil's mother had died.
His entire life, he's been with me, Wilmer Gutierrez explained.
The two applied for asylum before crossing the border and were bussed to New York, quickly finding work at a wholesale food distribution warehouse and renting an apartment as they awaited their court dates.
Merwil also had a pending asylum hearing.
On February 24th, Wilmer explained that Merwil, who wasn't needed that day at the warehouse, was seen handcuffed outside their building in the Bronx while Wilmer was at work.
He says a witness from the window above told him it looked like the officers were about to release him, but they took him anyway.
Wilmer went looking for his son at the 52nd precinct station.
If Merwil had been taken there, it was too late.
They told Wilmer to check with the immigration court at Federal Plaza, but there was no record of him being there.
Wilmer says he received a phone call from his son days later from a detention center in Pennsylvania, where he used him to ask about a hearing.
But after a few days, Merwil was in Texas, an even more depressing detention center.
The last time Wilmer heard from Merwil was March 15th, the day three planes carrying migrants suspected of being gang members, many with pending asylum cases, from the U.S. to El Salvador.
Merwil became what Border Czar Tom Homan has referred to as "collateral."
"We've seen this administration not respect TPS, not respect people who are married to U.S. citizens who have applications pending. People who are going to their naturalization interviews being arrested," said Veronica Cardenas, Immigration Attorney.
Cardenas says President Donald Trump's immigration policy of mass deportations has resulted in administrative errors.
Last week, Border Czar Tom Homan urged the city to give ICE access to Rikers, so agents don't have to wait for a suspect to be released into the community and end up arresting "collaterals."
"'Because when we find the bad guy, which we will, many times he's with others, others who are in the country illegally. Well, they're coming too. So, sanctuary cities will get exactly what they don't want, more agents in their neighborhood, more collateral risk. Work with us," Homan said.
"They're not collaterals. They're humans. And they deserve a process. And they were engaged in a process. That is actually legal," said Alexa Aviles, NYC Councilmember.
Aviles supports sanctuary city policies, which are supposed to protect people like Merwil Gutierrez.
Once in the CECOT prison, it's nearly impossible for attorneys to bring them back.
"Even some congressmen who have taken the trip have not had luck, so the best chance anyone has is fighting as hard as they can while they're still in the United States," Cardenas said.
While "know your rights" meetings explain that ICE agents need a judicial warrant to arrest someone in a home or business, on the street is another story.
Cardenas says families should have an attorney they can call in case someone gets detained.
"They should have an emergency plan where if they don't report to their wife, to their child, to a family member, that family member should be calling the attorney right away, so that a habeas, something can be done immediately," Cardenas said.
Wilmer said, despite having a lawyer, he has no idea how his son is doing and that he may be 19 years old, but he still sees him as the little boy he raised and brought him to the United States for the dream of a better life.
He said that they hadn't been apart in all Merwil's life as they've tried to work for a better one.
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