An immigrant farmworker who was detained by federal authorities in Burlington in March is returning to Mexico.
Cesar Alexis Carrillo, a member of the activist group Migrant Justice, accepted voluntary departure from the United States, according to his attorney.
Carrillo was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in March when he was on his way to a court hearing in Chittenden County stemming from his 2016 DUI arrest.
Carrillo was one of three activists detained for immigration violations in March. At a hearing in Boston, an immigration judge allowed the other two — Enrique Balcazar and Zully Palacios — to be released on bond.
Carrillo was denied bond, a decision likely related to the criminal DUI charge he faced. That charge was dropped in March. He has been held in a detention facility in New Hampshire since that time.
An ICE official confirmed Tuesday that Carrillo is awaiting repatriation and said his departure from the U.S. is “imminent.”
Matt Cameron, Carrillo’s immigration attorney, said Carrillo has already started the process of seeking to return to the United States through a marriage visa. Carrillo’s wife is a U.S. citizen; they have a 4-year-old child.
Carrillo could return to Vermont within a year, Cameron said.
By law, people who have lived in the United States for more than a year without authorization are restricted from returning for 10 years, but Cameron is optimistic Carrillo will be able to have that restriction waived.
Will Lambek, a spokesperson for Migrant Justice, said Tuesday he understands Carrillo has arrived in Mexico. Carrillo will stay in the Yucatan region, and his wife and daughter are planning to join him there.
“It’s a tragic chapter in what’s been a very sad story and one that’s emblematic of the current administration’s violation of immigrants’ rights,” Lambek said.
