Immigration groups seek release of mother of 3

Advocates for an undocumented Honduran immigrant, apprehended when Tavares police responded to a domestic violence call, vowed Wednesday to continue fighting to keep her in the country. They plan to pursue a petition on violations of her constitutional rights.

The case has reignited the debate over illegal immigration in the region.

Civil-liberties and immigration advocates decried the arrest as a misuse of police authority that broke apart a family, while others say she and her husband brought the situation on themselves.

The arrest came to light when the American Civil Liberties Union of Florida filed an "emergency petition" in U.S. District Court on Monday, arguing that the Tavares Police Department and the Lake County Sheriff's Office violated the woman's constitutional rights, afforded to anyone living in the country — legally or not.

Rita Cote, 23, was handed over to immigration officials Tuesday after spending more than a week in jail. She is now at a detention center in Palm Beach, said Barbara Gonzalez, a spokeswoman for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

"She failed to comply with her lawful order of removal and remained in the country in violation of law," Gonzalez said.

911 call sparks arrest

Cote, also known as Rita "Fany" Enriquez-Perdomo, was arrested Feb.16 when Tavares police responded to a domestic-violence call involving Cote's sister and her boyfriend, who lived in the same house.

The ACLU's court filing says police asked everyone for identification, instead of pursuing the domestic-violence complaint. They arrested Cote when they found she had a pending removal order that her attorney said was issued in her absence.

Cote had entered the country illegally when she was 15, but had since married a U.S. citizen and had three children born in the U.S.

On the day of the incident, Cote was handcuffed and taken away while her three sons, ages 2, 4 and 7, watched.

"They didn't arrest a criminal. Who they arrested was a mother of three children," said her husband, Robert Cote, who is 37. He said he married Enriquez-Perdomo when she was 16 with her parents' written consent.

Immigrant advocates say the case represents the nightmarish scenario they warned about when U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement began a policy of collaborating with local police in 2005.

"What you have is a local police officer choosing to wear an immigration hat over a public-safety hat," said José Luis Marantes, an organizer with the Florida Immigrant Coalition. "That is a problem."

National advocacy groups are also concerned about the implications of local enforcement of federal immigration law.

"No one should have to remain in the shadows and in danger because they fear that their one call to 911 could lead to their deportation, rather than to their deliverance from violence," said Jeanne Smoot, public-policy director with the Tahirih Justice Center, a group in Falls Church, Va., that helps immigrant women in domestic-violence situations.

Locally, about 15 people gathered Wednesday outside Orlando's U.S. Immigration Court in support of the family.

Cote's immigration attorney, John Barry, filed a petition to try to stop her deportation.

"We have an excellent opportunity to show that she has a right as the wife of a U.S. citizen to adjust status," Barry said.

Robert Cote said he and his wife had not filed for her legalization because they lacked the funds to go through the court process.

Victim or criminal?

Not everyone agrees that the Cotes are blameless victims.

The Lake County Sheriff's Office said it acted properly in holding Cote, just as it would with any illegal immigrant. Lake County Sheriff Gary Borders is seeking a formal agreement to work more closely with ICE, said sheriff's spokesman Sgt. John Herrell.

"We are not trying to go out there and participate in roundups and seek out these illegal immigrants," Herrell said. "The sheriff wanted this training just to equip deputies so that we know what to do."

Hundreds of Orlando Sentinel readers reacted to a story that appeared Wednesday and complained that the Cotes were in the wrong by knowingly violating immigration law.

"They should have acted in a more responsible manner so that these children don't have to go through this," said Susan Schrank from Apopka. "I don't want my heart strings to be tugged at and someone saying 'You bad U.S.,' when they all knew the laws were in place when they got married and had children."

Victor Manuel Ramos can be reached at vramos@orlandosentinel.com or 407-420-6186.

Related topic galleries: Deportation, John Barry, American Civil Liberties Union, Illegal Immigrants, Migration, Prisons, Falls Church (Falls Church, Virginia)