DETROIT – The shift in U.S. immigration policy under President Donald Trump is evident in Southwest Detroit after an undocumented man from Mexico, who cooperated with police and prosecutors in a shooting, was deported.
On Tuesday, the man's attorney talked about the IRS's move.
Recommended Videos
The shooting happened in 2014 during a soccer game at Patton Park in Southwest Detroit. The man who was targeted wasn't hit, but his brother was.
Now, both brothers are in Mexico after being deported.
Noe Lopez-Mulato, 34, is by all accounts a good soccer player. When he scored a goal during the game, it angered a spectator, who started shooting. Lopez-Mulato wasn't hit, but a bullet struck his brother.
They went to police, admitted they were undocumented immigrants and testified. The shooter was prosecuted and thrown in jail, but now the brothers have been picked up by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents.
They were deported last week, and their attorney, Michael Harrison, is outraged.
"It shocks the conscience that they would operate under this type of circumstances the way they did," Harrison said of the federal agency.
All the attorneys involved worked to get Lopez-Mulato and his brother U visas, which would allow them to become U.S. citizens. But that case hasn't been heard.
"This kind of policy is going to send the opposite message," Harrison said. "Don't cooperate with police no matter what they promise you, because they'll deport you. ... Someone high up in Washington said, 'We want to see more people deported,' and they're shooting for the low-hanging fruit, easy-to-find guys who said, 'Here I am.'"
ICE put out a statement that said it won't comment on specific cases, but that said it doesn't deport people indiscriminately. ICE said it looks for specific people who might pose a threat to homeland security or border security.