Jose Flores, the Oakmont man arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents late last month, is home with his family again, but not necessarily out of the woods.
Flores, 47, originally from Nicaragua, was taken into custody by ICE agents the morning of Jan. 29 in front of his home while buckling his 8-year-old daughter, Lily, into the car for her daily trip to school.
He was released Saturday with conditions from a prison in Moundsville, W.Va., and what his future holds is unclear.
“On Saturday, Mr. Flores’ attorney informed our office that Mr. Flores is being released under monitoring conditions while his case is being adjudicated. We welcome this decision,” said a statement from U.S. Sen. Dave McCormick’s office.
Flores’ attorney, Peter Rogers, did not return an email seeking comment Monday. According to online ICE records, Flores still has a hearing scheduled for 9 a.m. Feb. 19 in U.S. Immigration Court in Newark, N.J., before Judge Tamar Wilson.
So far, ICE officials have not commented on why Flores was detained, nor have they commented on why he was released.
Flores’ wife, Hariett, also from Nicaragua, previously told TribLive she and her husband have pending asylum applications and valid, five-year work permits. Both also legally obtained Social Security numbers and driver’s licenses.
Something out of a movie
Marc Serrao, co-owner of Oakmont Bakery, where Flores works, said he was in almost daily contact with Rogers after Flores’ arrest. They were realistic about Flores’ situation, and both men believed it would be a longshot to get Flores back home to his family.
“It sounded like there was almost no chance of Jose being released,” Serrao said.
Serrao said he tried to keep hope and prayed for a miracle. When he learned Flores had been released, Serrao said, it was like something out of a movie.
Serrao worked at the bakery from 3 a.m. to noon Saturday. He turned his phone off to get some sleep after the long early-morning shift.
Serrao said his wife, Susan, woke him up because Rogers was trying to get in touch with him. Rogers had called him about 20 times and resorted to calling the bakery, Serrao said.
“So, I called him back … and he said, ‘your boy just got released,’ ” Serrao said.
Serrao then drove to the Northern Regional Correctional Facility and Jail near Moundsville, W.Va., where Flores had been held since Jan. 29.
“It snowed most of the way up there,” Serrao said. “There were miles of barbed wire fence (around the facility).”
Serrao said the guards at the facility were kind and took him through an electric gate to pick up Flores.
“Jose’s a quiet guy. He’s mild-mannered. I call him the salt of the Earth,” Serrao said. “He’s not real emotional, but he got in my car and he cried and hugged me for minutes.”
Serrao said the two of them spent the drive home crying together and speaking through translator apps on their phones. Serrao’s son picked up Flores’ favorite dinner — steak and potatoes — to welcome him home.
“I got to bring him home to his wife and daughter,” Serrao said.
Community efforts
Serrao said he and his family were involved in the Flores family’s life before the ICE ordeal began. He helped the family find an apartment and furniture and helped Lily enroll in Riverview School District when the family moved to the area.
“We really didn’t want to publicize this at all because we didn’t want to put a red flag on the bakery,” Serrao said.
The bakery last week was forced to make a public statement after facing harassment on social media and via telephone since Flores was taken into custody.
Some social media commenters had called for a boycott of the bakery, falsely claiming the business was to blame for Flores’ arrest. A flood of phone calls to the business made similar claims, labeling the bakery and its employees “fascists” and “Nazis.”
“It was so insulting,” Serrao said about the rumors.
Serrao’s efforts to help Flores attracted the attention of some local lawmakers, including McCormick.
“As he has previously stated, Sen. McCormick supports enforcing our existing immigration laws, securing the border, and restoring order and effectiveness in our immigration process,” a spokesperson for McCormick said. “Sen. McCormick and his team have been closely monitoring and actively engaged with the Department of Homeland Security in the case of Mr. Jose Flores.”
Dana Kellerman, co-director of Indivisible Pittsburgh, called Flores’ arrest an abduction.
“He should never have been arrested,” she told TribLive during a Sunday vigil for Alex Pretti at the Fred Rogers Memorial on the North Shore. Pretti was shot and killed by federal agents during protests in Minneapolis Jan. 24.
“It is horrifying that (Flores) was abducted from his driveway in front of his child when he was here legally doing absolutely everything right to become an American, live out the American dream, working legally.”
TribLive reporter Brian Rittmeyer contributed to this article.