Atlanta student deported by ICE after traffic stop last month
By Angelina Salcedo
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DUNWOODY, Ga. (WXIA) — An 18-year-old Dunwoody High School student has officially been deported by U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement after he was denied a last-minute request to halt his removal, his attorney confirmed with 11Alive.
Axel Rios was being held at the Folkston ICE Processing Center after he was pulled over last month for driving without a license. His attorney, Alex Cornejo, said ICE rejected their appeal to exercise discretion in the case, leaving no barriers to immediate deportation to Honduras.
“We have a final order of removal against Axel,” Cornejo said. “One of the options for us was to go to ICE and ask them to exercise discretion.”
Cornejo said the request was denied within 72 hours. He said ICE characterized Rios as a threat to the community, a claim he disputes.
“He’s not. He’s a great boy. He’s harmless,” Cornejo said.
Rios’ family was waiting and hoping for a final legal intervention. Cornejo said on Wednesday that his team was pursuing a motion in Florida, where the original removal order was issued, seeking to have the decision reversed. If granted, the case could’ve possibly returned to Georgia, where Rios could’ve asked an immigration judge for release. Because the final order of removal was issued by a judge in Florida, they had to ask for that decision to be reversed in Florida.
However, those hopes were immediately dashed on Thursday.
“ICE never waited for the judge to decide. It happened today,” Cornejo said. “Never told us anything. It’s a shame.”
Rios, a junior at Dunwoody High School, soccer player, son and brother has lived in the United States since he was 6 years old, according to his attorney. Cornejo said Rios has no criminal history beyond a minor traffic violation.
Cornejo also raised concerns in a Wednesday interview with 11Alive about Rios’ safety if he is deported to Honduras.
“Sending him back to Honduras is, in my opinion, a death sentence because you have to remember he and his family fled Honduras after a family member was convicted for being a member of MS-13 an extremely dangerous gang,” he said.
His attorney previously said that if Rios was deported before a judge intervenes, the chances of returning to the United States become significantly more limited.
“The message of this administration has always been we are going to get rid of the bad apples,” Cornejo said. “Is Axel one of them? The answer is no. So why are you going after our children?”
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