Flatbush demands release of Roberto Lamour, Haitian father detained by ICE and sent to Mississippi

Flatbush residents in Brooklyn and several New York elected officials are demanding the release of Roberto Lamour, a Haitian father arrested on Saturday, Oct. 3, in his apartment by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents, then transferred to a detention center in Mississippi, more than 1,000 miles from his wife and daughter.

According to his neighbors and family, the agents identified themselves as NYPD officers to get into his Flatbush building and then into his apartment. "They accessed the building by saying that they were NYPD," a resident, Angelina, told amNewYork. Asked by the paper, the NYPD said it "had no knowledge of or involvement in the incident in question."

Friends say Roberto Lamour has no criminal record. He was first held at Delaney Hall, an immigration detention facility in Newark, New Jersey, before being sent to Mississippi. The outlets that covered the case do not name that facility or give his immigration status.

A family waiting

At first believing local police had arrested him, his wife, Darchnee, went to the neighborhood precinct, where she was told he was not there; she then learned he was in federal immigration custody, Latin Times reports. Their daughter is not yet 3. "Seeing our young daughter search for her father and cry for him is heartbreaking," Darchnee Lamour told amNewYork. She says the child runs to the door whenever the doorbell rings, believing her father has come home.

On Thursday, Oct. 22, neighbors and officials held a news conference outside the building. Taking part were Council Member Rita Joseph, who represents District 40, New York City Public Advocate Jumaane Williams, the building's tenant association, Hands Off NYC, the New York Immigration Coalition and Haitian Women for Haitian Refugees, according to The Haitian Times and BK Reader.

"Roberto is our neighbor. He is a husband and a father whose young daughter deserves to have her father home," Rita Joseph said, as quoted by The Haitian Times. "We demand the immediate release of Roberto Lamour and his return home to his family in New York." According to BK Reader, her office is working with the family and will keep coordinating with local, state and federal authorities.

"I'm going to keep fighting till Roberto comes home," Jumaane Williams said, as quoted by amNewYork. In a press release cited by BK Reader, U.S. Rep. Yvette D. Clarke called the arrest "blatantly xenophobic, inhumane and cruel."

No response from ICE or the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) was reported by The Haitian Times, amNewYork, BK Reader or Latin Times.