HARTFORD — Supporters of an immigrant facing deportation to Colombia rallied outside of the Hartford federal courthouse to call on authorities to let him stay in the U.S. while he tries to get his asylum case reopened.
The gathering to support Francisco Acosta happened 10:30 a.m. Monday. He has been ordered to report to federal immigration authorities on Monday with a one-way ticket to Colombia dated for next month.
According to a tweet from the Service Employees International Union. Acosta was fitted with an ankle bracelet and he is free to work until his deportation on January 16.
Acosta says he fled Colombia in 2001 because of violence and threats to his life. He entered the U.S. illegally and ended up living in Hartford. He is a janitor at Wesleyan University in Middletown.
Acosta’s political asylum case failed, but he was granted regular stays of removal until the Trump administration changed policies on immigrants this year.
