Congregation requests support and advocacy for detained church member and his family

A release from West Charleston Church of the Brethren

The members of West Charleston Church of the Brethren in Tipp City, Ohio, invite your support and advocacy for one of their church members, Armando Leonel Reyes Rodriguez, who was detained by ICE officers.

Consider one or more of the following ways of showing support to him and his family. Some
details about his situation are shared below. Thank you for caring!

— Send a card or letter letting him know you are praying for him: Butler County Jail, Armando Reyes Rodriguez, 705 Hanover St., Hamilton OH 45011.

— Send cards and prayers to his wife and children, ages 8 and 3, care of West Charleston Church of the Brethren, 4817 S. State Route 202, Tipp City, OH, 45371.

— Contact our elected officials: Congressman Mike Turner, Senator Jon Husted, Senator
Bernie Moreno. Put the message in your own words including stories of connection with the family and/or how this impacts you, but keep it brief. The message could be something like the following and may include these facts and concerns about his case:

Congressman Mike Turner
Dayton Office
120 West 3rd St., Suite 305
Dayton, OH 45402
https://turner.house.gov/email-me

Senator Jon Husted
Middletown Office
300 North Main St., Suite 200
Middletown, Ohio 45042
www.husted.senate.gov/contact-jon/

Senator Bernie Moreno
Bricker Federal Building
200 North High Street, Room 618
Columbus, OH 43215
www.moreno.senate.gov/share-your-opinion/

I am writing to request your intervention on behalf of (a member of one of our sister churches), Armando Leonel Reyes Rodriguez. ICE officers detained him even though he has been in full compliance with all their requests. His attorney has submitted a petition for his release but ICE officials have not responded. We want Armando to be reunited with his wife and children and for his family to be granted due process in having their asylum request considered. We are concerned about ICE overreach in separating good families who are contributing to their church and community. ICE’s mandate is to “protect the homeland through the arrest and removal of noncitizens who undermine the safety of our communities” (www.ice.gov/about-ice/ero). Our church member is not a safety threat and in fact, ICE overreach is creating a sense of injustice and insecurity among our churches and community. Please respond to our request for Armando’s release.

Sincerely,
(insert your signature and contact information)

— Contact your elected officials. Considering sharing something like the following with them:

We are concerned about ICE overreach in separating good families who are contributing to their church and community. ICE’s mandate is to “protect the homeland through the arrest and removal of noncitizens who undermine the safety of our communities” (www.ice.gov/about-ice/ero).

A member of one of our sister churches was detained by ICE officers even though he has been in full compliance with all their requests. Church members, like our brother in Christ, are not a safety threat and in fact, ICE overreach is creating a sense of injustice and insecurity among our churches and community. Please act to have persons like this be reunited with their families and granted the due process afforded them by law in having their asylum requests considered.

In related news

West Charleston Church of the Brethren pastor Caleb Kragt was one of a group of local pastors urging the Butler County (Ohio) commissioners to “void the contract the sheriff has with U.S. Immigration Customs Enforcement and get out of the deportation business,” according to a report from the Journal-News. “Kragt spoke in particular about one of his parishioners, Armando Reyes Rodriguez, 42, who was ‘scooped up’ by ICE in April and is now living in the jail. He told the commissioners Reyes is living here with permission from the federal government and his wife and son are currently in the process of getting asylum from Honduras. ‘You cannot change Armando’s case but you can choose not to cooperate with deportation efforts that have become a priority only through false narratives and fear mongering,’ he said.” Read more at www.journal-news.com/news/area-pastors-urge-butler-county-commissioners-to-end-ice-jail-contract/7GDQWAFMHZHZRBFMLUEP4NHP7M

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