Queens Father Granted Six-Month Stay After Deportation Threats

JAMAICA, QUEENS -- Riaz Talukder can breathe a sigh of relief. After spending a month preparing for what he worried would be the day of his deportation, the Queens father instead learned he will spend Thanksgiving with his family at their home in Jamaica.

Talukder, a 50-year-old Bangladesh immigrant, arrived at New York City's Immigration and Customs Enforcement on Monday morning prepared for the worst: He was told at his last ICE check-in in October to return with his passport and a one-way ticket to Bangladesh. Armed with an attorney appealing the case and support from family, friends and strangers gathered on his behalf, he entered ICE knowing he may not return to his family.

But around two hours later, Talukder emerged from the building beaming to give supporters camped outside the good news made obvious by his presence: He wasn't being deported.

"I can have a Thanksgiving with my family," Talukder said, bearing an ear-to-ear grin that matched that of his wife and two sons huddled around him. "I'm very happy."

Instead, Talukder was granted a six-month extension to allow for processing of paperwork he'd already filed to stay in the United States, said his lawyer Edward Cuccia.

"We’re very, very hopeful," Cuccia said. "This would have been a very different interview if I’d been standing in front of you today alone, but I’m not, we’re standing together and we’re going to do it. The mountain is going to be climbed."

The atmosphere had indeed been notably more somber just hours ago, when Talukder and his family bore worried faces and teary eyes. Supporters' joyous cries of "Yes we did," were preceded by urgent chants of "Save Riaz Now" before his ICE meeting.

Dozens showed up with signs and banners to the press conference organized by the New York Immigration Coalition, which turned into a rally of support for Talukder. Representatives from member groups of NYIC, an umbrella organization encompassing more than 200 immigrant advocacy groups in the state, spoke on his behalf.

"We're here not only to stand in solidarity with Riaz, but to show that our communities are coming together to fight for each other," said Fahd Ahmed, executive director of Desis Rising Up and Moving.

Talukder has lived in the United States for 37 years, since he was 13 years old, Ahmed said. Currently working as a cab driver, he is the sole breadwinner for his two sons - Rafi, 15, and Radi, 11. His wife is battling thyroid cancer and is scheduled to undergo surgery in December.

Upon his release, Talukder was granted a stay of deportation with a clear path to citizenship ahead, Cuccia told City Limits. The plan was for his son to sponsor him for a green card once he turned 21. Until then, Talukder would check in with ICE every year to have his stay renewed annually.

Talukder is among thousands with a clear path to U.S. citizenship who, under Obama, were granted a continued stay of deportation, Cuccia told City Limits. But that changed in January when President Donald Trump signed a set of executive orders in an attempt to crack down on the country's immigration laws.

"There are 2.3 million people in this country who live under orders of supervision, who have to walk into buildings like this every day to find out whether they’re going to be allowed to stay in this country with their families, or whether they’re going to be detained," said Lucy Herschel, of the Jackson Heights Immigrant Solidarity Network.

Herschel claimed 11 Bangladesh fathers were deported last month from Queens alone.

"This is the kind of nightmare that's over people's heads day in and day out in this country," she said.

As for Talukder, his lawyer filed a motion to the Board of Immigration Appeals in Washington D.C. to have his asylum case reopened. The extra six months will allow for those documents to be processed, Cuccia said.

Lead photo via Patch Reporter Danielle Woodward.