Trump Administration Is Trying To Deport A 9/11 Recovery Worker
In a sign that Donald Trump’s promise to dramatically ramp up deportations is coming to fruition, a new report reveals that a worker who helped remove hazardous material from Ground Zero in New York after the 9/11 attack is facing deportation.
The story was first reported by the New York Daily News.
According to the Daily News, Carlos Humberto Cardona was taken into custody in February after being asked to check in with immigration authorities.
Cardona’s wife told the Daily News, “I can’t believe that this is happening to him after all of the sacrifices he has made. He says he feels like he’s being treated like a criminal. He’s suffering from depression being locked up in there.”
Cardona has had a removal order since May 2000 because of a 1990 attempted drug sale conviction, the Daily News reported.
Cardona also filed a clemency application with New York in April, according to the Daily News.
He arrived in the United States in 1986 when he was 17 to avoid danger in Colombia.
His two brothers were killed by anti-government rebels, his wife told the Daily News.
After 9/11, Cardona helped to remove hazardous materials from Ground Zero and has faced health issues as a result, including lung, gastrointestinal and psychological issues, the Daily News reported.
“He’s very much an American,” Rajesh Barua, Cardona’s attorney, told the Daily News. “He’s scared of going back to Colombia. He doesn’t know how he’ll maintain a living and what kind of treatment he’ll have for respiratory problems, which are very real.”
