Protest held to fight Ann Arbor dad's deportation to Mexico

DETROIT (WJBK) - A show of support for a local man facing deportation after living in metro Detroit for nearly 20 years.

Jose Luis Sanchez Ronquillo remains locked up with his family holding a rally demanding his immediate release.

"We don't really give up, we have hope that my dad is going to come back soon," said his son Charlie Sanchez Ronquillo.

Charlie, just 11 years old, is trying to stay strong but it's not easy.

Jose Luis Sanchez Ronquillo has lived in Ann Arbor for nearly 20 years but he's been detained for more than three months. He is facing deportation back to Mexico because he doesn't have the proper documentation to be in the U.S.

On Tuesday his supporters protested in front of the U.S. immigration offices in Detroit.

"They picked up people like Jose Luis who have been in the United States for 20 years who have done nothing, no crime," said attorney Shanta Driver. "(They) have lived here, worked here, who have children here, who built a life here, who are more American than any American."

"It has been a nightmare," said his son Jose Sanchez Ronquillo. "This has been the worst summer ever. I want this nightmare to end."

Sanchez Ronquillo's attorney says he has no criminal record unlike Iraqi detainees who have been facing deportation since June.

"I hope we will be together to be able to greet Jose Luis when he comes out," said Driver. "And I hope we will be able to greet the many people from Iraq who are just like him. They deserve to stay here and they will."

Sanchez Ronquillo's sons are praying their dad will come home someday soon.

"We've been able to talk to him on the phone but we haven't seen him," said Charlie Sanchez Ronquillo. "He says he's fine, he misses us and hopefully he'll come back home to be with us."