Racine Hispanic Leader Deported After Legal Battle

Aug. 5, 2019 8:45p

(WGTD)---An activist in Racine's Hispanic community was deported last week, ending a legal battle that began after he was picked up by ICE agents about a year ago.  

40-year-old Ricardo Fierro's arrest last summer triggered a public demonstration and a show of support from various community leaders.  

Fierro, married with five children and two step-children, had led the Racine Interfaith Coalition's work on immigration reform. He also sat on Racine Unified's Middle School Transformation Committee and formerly served as a regional director of the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.

Fierro came to this country with his family in 1995 at the age of 16. He was deported to Mexico two years later. He slipped back in a year after that. His record consisted of two citations over a three-year-span for operating without a valid driver's license. 

According to the Racine Journal Times, Fierro's family received word of his deportation only through informal channels. Fierro reportedly suspected that he was about to be sent back because his information had been removed from ICE's database. 

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