Long Island college student detained by ICE 1 day before commencement and just weeks before her wedding
A Long Island college community is outraged after a stellar student was taken into U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody.
Sara Lopez Garcia, a student at Suffolk Community College's Eastern Campus, now faces deportation just weeks before she's supposed to get married.
"We are so saddened by it, angry and disappointed"
Garcia came to the U.S. illegally at age 15, but was granted special juvenile immigration status and was in the process of obtaining a green card.
At SCC, she had a near perfect 4.0 grade-point average, was in Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society, and was a passionate tour guide, club president and volunteer, according to Faculty Association President Dante Morelli.
"We have experienced a lot of outrage as a result of this in our community. We are so saddened by it, angry and disappointed," Morelli said.
"Word spread very quickly that a student had been detained by ICE," said Cynthia Eaton, an English professor. "When I finally heard her name and I realized it was my own student, that was very hard ... knowing what a strong, smart, amazing young woman this is."
"They were contributing to our community"
Garcia and her mother were detained at their basement apartment on a quiet street in Mastic, just nine miles away from campus. It happened in May, one day before graduation, when ICE agents spread across several Suffolk County communities. The Trump administration said it was focusing on dangerous criminals.
"Real fears because obviously it's happening in Suffolk Community College, and not for people that, we've clearly seen in this case, that have any sort of criminal record," said Minerva Perez, with the Latino Advocacy Organization.
"She had a Social Security number, she and her mother, and they had working permits. They were contributing to our community," Morelli said.
Garcia and her mother are in detention in Louisiana, soon to be deported to Colombia. Garcia's wedding had been scheduled for August.
Garcia's 17-year-old brother, a student at William Floyd High School, is still in Mastic, being watched over by neighbors.