Paulette Cordova Pacheco thought her brother was playing a joke when he called her this morning to say he’d been picked up by ICE officers.
Then she heard his voice crack.
Randy Cordova Flores, 36, was pulled over by a Springdale Borough police officer at around 8:45 a.m. while on his way to work, he told his sister. Officers said they stopped him for failing to signal his turn, and he was taken in immediately and met by ICE agents at the municipal police station, his sister said.
“It was a setup,” said Pacheco, based on his account. She said she noticed three police cars in their neighborhood earlier that morning. “They were waiting for him.”
She sped back from her work in Fox Chapel and tried to meet him at the station, but she said she was kept waiting outside and later told he was on his way to the Department of Homeland Security facility in Pittsburgh’s South Side.
There, she said she was again told she could not see him, nor could he see a lawyer.
“They are not following due process,” said Pacheco, who worked as a prosecutor in Lima, Peru, before moving to Pittsburgh seven years ago and obtaining citizenship.
She next heard from her brother around 3.30 p.m., when he called to say he was on his way to the Moshannon Valley Processing Center in Clearfield County.
Public Source sent an email inquiry to ICE, asking whether the agency knows Flores’ immigration status, and was advised that the agency is working on a statement in response.
Flores has no criminal history, Pacheco said, and he has complied with all the requirements for his pending asylum process since arriving in the U.S. three years ago with his wife and two children.
A Pittsburgh’s Public Source check of online state and federal criminal dockets did not show any charges against Flores. ICE did not immediately respond when asked if the agency knew of any criminal record for Flores. DHS, which includes ICE, has said it is targeting people who are in the United States illegally and are criminals.
Pacheco said she has spoken to an immigration attorney.
Friends and former neighbors, including two Allegheny Valley School Board members, have rallied behind the family and helped set up a GoFundMe campaign to raise money for legal fees.
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“I want to take his case to all the courts that I have to but for that it will take money,” said Pacheco.
U.S. Rep Chris Deluzio, D-Aspinwall, said in a statement his office is in contact with Flores’ family and his lawyer.
“According to the family and to all reporting I am aware of, Mr. Cordova Flores has a pending asylum determination, a valid work authorization, and no criminal record,” the statement said. “Once again, we need answers to basic questions about the reason for his arrest and why our government is seeking to remove him from the country. I’ll keep fighting for answers and accountability.”
Springdale police did not immediately respond to a request for comment. A message left for the borough mayor was not immediately returned.
Springdale has adopted a 287(g) agreement with ICE formalizing cooperation between the local and federal agencies. The contract was inked outside of a public vote, drawing scrutiny from a resident and some legal advocates.
Pacheco said she loves this country and supports deportations of criminals, but her brother’s case demonstrates “they’re going after the wrong people.”
She fears now for Flores’ children, who are afraid to go to school.
“I have to be strong for my family and my brother.”
Update (2/12): Rep. Deluzio’s statement was added after publication.
Jamie Wiggan is deputy editor at Pittsburgh’s Public Source. He can be reached at jamie@publicsource.org.
Stephanie Strasburg is a photojournalist with Pittsburgh’s Public Source who can be reached at stephanie@publicsource.org, on Instagram@stephaniestrasburgor on Twitter@stephstrasburg.
