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Dozens of Westchester residents gathered on Monday in White Plains for Cristobal Paute, who illegally emigrated to the country with his parents 18 years ago from Ecuador. He was deported over the weekend after being picked up by ICE agents at 6 a.m. on Feb. 23.
Paute left behind three kids and a wife in Sleepy Hollow. He was first taken to Louisiana, and sent back to Ecuador on Saturday.
In response, supporters and immigration activists hosted a rally, which dozens attended, in White Plains over the weekend. A GoFundMe fundraising campaign was also started by a family friend, which has raised more than $7,000 that has been donated to Paute’s family.
“My daughter is the classmate of Cristobal Paute’s first-grade child, Cynthia,” Helena Day noted. “I am a stay at home mom and a class parent for Cynthia’s class. My family and I live in the same community as Cristobal Paute’s Family in Sleepy Hollow. We are raising these funds to assist Cristobal’s family with their rent and other living expenses while he remains in immigration detention, as he was the family’s primary wage earner.”
“Cristobal Paute is a citizen and national of Ecuador who has a criminal conviction in the United States," ICE said in a statement. "He was issued a final order of removal by an immigration judge in July 2010.”
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