A longtime mechanic and beloved community member in Froid, Montana was detained by border patrol in January. Roberto Orozco-Ramirez’ arrest has forced a reckoning in the red town on what Trump’s immigration policies mean on the ground. Montana Free Press’ Nora Mabie broke the story, and has been following both the case and the community’s response. She joined MTPR’s Elinor Smith to break down the details.
Elinor Smith A longtime mechanic and beloved community member in Freud, Montana was detained by Border Patrol. Roberto Orozco-Ramirez's arrest has forced a reckoning in the red town on what Trump's immigration policies mean on the ground. Montana Free Press' Nora Mabey broke the story and has been following the case and its updates as well as the community's response. She's here now to break down the details. Nora, thank you so much for taking the time to speak with us today. Thanks for having me. So at the center of this whole situation is Roberto Orozco-Ramirez. I wanted to start out by checking in on how he's doing.
Nora Mabie Yeah, so Roberto has been in Cascade County Jail in Great Falls since the very end of January. So it's been more than two months now. He's able to talk to his family members occasionally, but the big change for them and for community members is that his diesel shop in Froid has been closed since then, and that was their main source of income. So it has been very hard for his wife who's worried for him and then he has four sons. His oldest son came home from at Williston State University, where he was studying, to be with his family, and he switched to classes online. And I think mostly his sons are just worried about their father being in limbo and not knowing what could happen next.
Elinor Smith I know Orozco-Ramirez has been speaking with some defense attorneys about his case. What's going on with those charges?
Nora Mabie His defense attorneys recently filed a motion to dismiss in his case, meaning basically they think that charge should be dismissed and then he should be released. And what they argue is that when he was initially detained and removed from the U.S. In 2009, they're saying that that removal violated his constitutional rights. And so specifically, they've said, you know, his English wasn't great at the time and he was not made aware of what documents he was signing. And one of those documents was what's called a stipulated removal order, and it means he agreed to being removed from the U.S. And waived his right to a hearing. They say, you know, he just wasn't made aware of that, and then they also say he wasn't made aware possible opportunities to avoid deportation. And so their big argument is that that initial removal was unconstitutional, so then his reentry charge would be irrelevant.
Elinor Smith On the note of illegal reentry, I know you've spoken to a lot of attorneys, both immigration and criminal defense in your reporting. What did you learn about the illegal reentry charge and how common it is across the nation?
Nora Mabie This charge is really interesting. Illegal reentry is a felony, and it basically means that you came back into the U.S. After you were removed at an initial time. It's a very common charge. It's one of the most common federal criminal charges, and some years, prosecuted more than firearm charges, theft and things like that combined. And the main thing lawyers told me is that it's a charge that's easy to prove, because you can prove your past removal, and then you can prove that the was found in the U.S. But it's hard to fight. And they did say the most common way to fight it is by arguing that that initial removal was done in an unconstitutional way. And that's exactly what we're seeing with Roberto's lawyers.
Elinor Smith Back in Froid, there's been a lot of discussion about Orozco-Ramirez's arrest. What are people saying, and how have they been handling this arrest?
Nora Mabie Yeah, so in Froid, this has really, it's been uncomfortable for people. It's forced a community that is deeply Conservative, many of whom supported President Trump in the last election, to grapple with the uncomfortable consequences of immigration policy. And, you know, a very recent example of this was at a February 28th fundraiser event in the community. The organizer hung signs all over the community center where it was held, saying, you know, do not talk about politics here. This is a time to support the family. This is not a time talk about about politics.
Nora Mabie And I actually spoke with State Senator Cora Newman, who traveled to that fundraiser. I asked her about what are her thoughts on keeping politics out of this event? And she said it made sense to her, because she said sometimes divisive politics can actually keep people from helping each other. And she says when your neighbor is in immediate need, It makes sense to sort of address that immediate concern right away and then maybe later the political discussion will happen. So, I'll be eager to see if that happens.
Elinor Smith Well, before we wrap up today, I was wondering, was there anything that we didn't get a chance to discuss or that we want to go over about Roberto Orozco-Ramirez's case, or updates on the legal situation that surrounds it?
Nora Mabie The attorneys on behalf of the federal government will have 15 days to respond to Roberto's lawyer, so I'll be watching for that.
Elinor Smith Well, Nora, thank you so much for being here today and unpacking the situation for us.
