(Photo: Cruz for New York)
Aug. 16, 2018 By Tara Law
A Jackson Heights man who was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement on a bus ride to visit his brother in Seattle last month has been reunited with his family.
Alfredo Flores, a 36-year-old father of three, was welcomed home by a rally in Jackson Heights yesterday after being released on bond.
Flores, a Mexico-born undocumented immigrant, was arrested while riding a Greyhound bus from New York to Seattle on July 16. Unaware that the bus’s route cuts through Canada, Flores was detained at the border near Buffalo, N.Y.
His wife, Wendy Valverde, 33, was left to care for the couple’s children— ages 2, 4 and 5— alone. She was also faced with the task of posting a $10,000 bond to secure her husband’s release.
Valverde started a Facebook fundraiser last month, and told the Jackson Heights Post that she was planning to sell ice cream at a Peruvian Parade in New Jersey to raise help raise the money.
The couple’s fortunes shifted after The Jackson Heights Post published a story about their plight on July 26.
Catalina Cruz, a candidate for State Assembly, read about Flores’s story and reached out to Valverde.
Valverde was able to get pro-bono legal representation with the help of Cruz and Sunnyside Community Services, and Flores was released on bond after 20 days in detention.
At the rally yesterday, Valverde thanked Cruz for connecting his family to legal aid.
“When I was detained, I feared the worst and that I would be deported,” Flores said. “Fortunately, my wife was able to find the right help so that I can once again be with my family.”
Valverde also expressed her gratitude to Cruz.
“When Catalina Cruz first contacted me, I had been desperately seeking help from various aid groups,” Valverde said. “I didn’t know where else to turn, but luckily Catalina pointed me in the right direction. I’m relieved to have my husband back home and I thank the many people from this community who have supported our family every step of the way.”
Speaking to the Jackson Heights Post today, Cruz said that she was grateful that the publication had covered the story.
“If it hadn’t been for that story I don’t think I ever would’ve found these folks,” Cruz said. “And he’s out— for now. I’m very thankful.”
