By Esteban Fernandez
For Times West Virginian
Clarksburg — To see her husband, Lauren Cristal has to travel four hours to Moshannon Valley where he’s held at an Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility.
That reality is disconcerting for Cristal’s sister, Kristina Smith.
“It’s wrong for these men who are living in West Virginia, to not have a trial in a West Virginia setting,” Smith said. “They should be closer to their families and a lot of us are sympathetic to that.”
Over 50 community members showed up Thursday in a Clarksburg federal courtroom to support two men who have been detained by ICE.
Erick Leonel Cristal Cumes and Jose Cruz Castro, both employees of Don Patron Mexican Restaurant in Weston and Bridgeport respectively, appeared virtually in U.S. District Court Judge Thomas Kleeh’s courtroom. Both men had habeas petitions filed on their behalf by Climate Defense Project attorney Jonathan Sidney, who is challenging the validity of the government’s detainment.
Kristina Smith said it makes sense to her to keep the case’s jurisdiction in West Virginia. Doing so would give Castro and Cumes a fighting chance, where they would have access to their community and access to representation. She said many detainees are lost in the system because of the rapid transfers between ICE facilities.
Brittney Barlett belongs to a network of activists who are keeping track of detentions across the state. She responded to the initial call when Cumes was detained in Weston. Living in a red state, Barlett said she is grateful for the show of strength from the community.
“I think it shows that the angry folks you see on Facebook, making hateful comments about people who don’t look like them are in the minority,” she said. “I think people truly love their community members. It also demonstrates that the folks ICE is going after are people that we love and go see every week when we go to dinner.”
Barlett said the fact that so many people showed up to support both men shows how essential they are to their communities. Barlett said she hopes Judge Kleeh keeps the case in West Virginia, because it allows the community to come out and advocate on behalf of immigrants who have been detained under questionable circumstances.
Nick Fedorkl, a Morgantown resident who is part of Mountaineers Indivisible Citizen’s Action, said they came to Clarksburg after their group notified them the case was due for a hearing Thursday. Fedorkl was concerned about the ramifications on habeas corpus. Habeas corpus essentially means the government needs to be able to prove an individual’s detention is legally justified. Even undocumented immigrants have that right, according to former Conservative Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia.
Fedorkl also found the focus on jurisdiction over the question of habeas corpus during the hearing ridiculous.
“They had lives here, they were living here, this was their domicile, correct?” Fedorkl said. “Well then this should be the jurisdiction. To me, it’s an American — it’s a no brainer. You’re tried by your peers, right? Your peers are here in this. This community, not in Pennsylvania. So the idea here is, they can just drag somebody into whatever state they think is maybe going to give them a better chance of doing what they want to do with them.”
Lauren Cristal, Cumes’ wife, appreciates having the support. She said her husband should have his hearings in the place he was taken from, because West Virginia is his home. Smith was more blunt.
“The community loves them and wants them back,” she said.
Read more from Times West Virginian, here.
