Support for Hector Canedo-Sanchez
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Dear friends of Hector,
It is with a heavy heart that we reach out to our strong, loving and supportive community in a time of extreme pain and crisis for one of our beloved friends, teachers and coworker - Hector Canedo-Sanchez. Despite adhering to all the legal channels and programs at his disposal for the last decade, due to thoughtless changes and repeals to existing immigration procedure, Hector is now facing imminent deportation.
As we watch him reach the end of his admirable emotional, mental and physical capacity, the time has come to reach out our community to gather what resources we can spare to assist him. It is our goal to raise $25,000 for hector to help him continue to fund his legal fees to appeal the judgement and deportation order that he has received, to help support him in the likely event that he will have to return to Mexico (where he has not lived since he was 8 years old) and for him to pursue other avenues to return to the states.
Hector is in need of personal space right now to deal with his immigration case, academic work, and teaching load. Prayers, donations, and willingness to show up in solidarity when it is needed, will be most helpful at this time. We will send out another community notice if collective action is needed.It would be greatly appreciated if you could please honor his commitment to focus on his classroom and refrain from approaching him directly with condolences or words of support. We strive to allow him the dignity of receiving our support and proffering his thanks on his own terms, when he is able.
He is in dire need of our help to assist with legal fees for his appeal, and worst case scenario, relocation assistance and support if he has to return to Mexico. If that unbearable event should come about, he will need continued support to petition for reentry or citizenship from there if he is to have any chance of continuing to raise his young daughter or of returning to the teaching career he is so passionate about and has fought so hard for. Please read through to the end for his full story in his own words and consider making whatever contribution you can, however small or large. Please also share his story with anyone you know who might like to know it and might wish to support him.
One of the highest hopes we can have for our children’s education is that they get as many caring and inspiring teachers as possible, and in that respect Hector is a legendary teacher in the making. Hector has been a 3rd grade teacher at Bridger Elementary since the fall of 2018, but in his short tenure, his impact in and out of the classroom has been poignant and powerful. At the end of his first year, it was beyond moving how many students were near tears in expressing their love and gratitude for their Maestro. One particularly stoic child who had struggled to find his way academically and emotionally until that time gushed that he never thought he could ever like school until he had Hector as his teacher.
With his typical incontrovertible grace , Hector has been 100% present for his classroom while he has silently been juggling completion of his masters degree work, navigation of an expensive legal process and the painful and complicated termination of his marriage. He is steadfastly calm, thoughtful and supportive with his students while battling unimaginable stress and strain.
For those of you have do not know the full story of his experience, please click on the links below for the full story and a short televised news excerpt (it is the first clip and Hector is featured at the end) from a rally that took place last summer. Below that link are excerpts from the full speech that Hector gave at that rally.
https://www.koin.com/local/multnomah-county/lights-for-liberty-to-encircle-portland-ice-center/
Hector Canedo-Sanchez
7-12-19
I wanna thank God and everyone for your presence here tonight. Your presence means so much to me, my family and everyone in the fight.
I want to send my thoughts and prayers to the family and friends of Betsy Moreno, a mother from Cornelius, who was recently detained by ICE. She will be awaiting her first hearing at the Tacoma ICE Detention Center. I dedicate this speech to her.
On October 2016 approximately 4 am, I woke up to loud knocking at my front door. I walked out in my pajamas to meet 3 ICE officers in full tactical gear. They advised there was a federal warrant out for my arrest and added that they were not required to show me the warrant because it was an administrative warrant. They said “Turn around and put your hands behind your head” My wife came to the door and stood in disbelief. My 4-year-old daughter was sleeping in her room. Thank God.
I was transported from my home in Beaverton to here; this building which we stand in front of today. The arresting officer told me, “We needed to take care of some administrative paperwork first…”
After a day and a half of curling into my pajamas for warmth, sleeping on a cold concrete slab, I was confused to see an officer outside my jail cell lining up other detainees for transportation. As the officer started frisking us one by one, I approached the officer and explained I had wrapped my body underneath my clothes with tissues paper during the night for insulation to stay warm.. He gave me an angry look but then said “Thanks for being honest with me”.
At the Tacoma detention center, I automatically became the translator not only for the other detainees, but also for the ICE officers! I was sought out by ICE agents to translate various protocols and legal information to other detainees.
(I thought I was working hard enough as a de-escalation supervisor for the company I was working for at the time... boy, did I not have the slightest clue as to how much harder I was going to have to work to survive at the detention center).
My communication skills made the ICE officers job a whole lot easier.
I worked tirelessly day and night for 30 days straight by myself and with limited contact to my private immigration lawyer. I even worked through a terrible sickness that I incurred from stress, and the horrible conditions there. I felt I couldn’t give up.
As a detainee we are not entitled to legal representation nor interpretation services. Honestly, I felt I was forced to be the legal representation and the interpreter for the ICE staff.
Nevertheless through my dedication I earned the respect of the entire community of detainees I was living with. I learned so much about the “fighting will to provide for your family” as I got to know my Hatian, Guatemalan, Honduran, and Salvadoran brothers.
With the grace of God, my lawyer and the presiding Judge agreed to a low bond after reviewing my file. Despite the federal prosecutor’s recommendation for a high bond amount so I would be held in detention rather than free while awaiting my second and third hearing.
After paying the federal government the bond amount, I was released and reunited with my beautiful little girl; who was so confused about where her daddy was the morning I was separated from her, until the morning she saw me walking out of Tacoma ICE in my pajamas.
I thought the toughest part was over. But God had bigger plans for me. USCIS confiscated my DACA work permit which is consequently linked to my drivers license (this true for all DACA recipients). At this point I found myself unable to provide for my family and without legal means of transportation. To add insult to injury; our apartments were gentrified and the entire building was served a “No cause eviction notice”. More than 90 of our neighbors were, including my family, were displaced.
I found myself with very little money, wandering the streets of Southeast Portland, literally, begging small business owners for any kind of work. I knew this was not the way but I had no option. Then God answered my prayers and gave me a job as a janitor for a convenience store. I worked my way to merchandise manager working 16+ hour shifts, alone for 2 years, sending money to support my daughter in Beaverton.
In those years I saved enough money to put myself in a graduate school. Now I am a full time MAT student and a full time teacher with the city of Portland! The students that I teach are deeply inspired by my story immigration story. And they inspired me to build fruitful career where I have the tremendous joy of making a living applying my true talent as a teacher.
I want the “take-away” from my testimony tonight to be:
The injustices that impact us at the US/Mexico border directly impact your and my neighborhood. They impact members of the community in Gresham, Oregon City, Salem, Beaverton, Hillsboro, our brothers and sisters in Washington, California and beyond. The reason to commit your: time, energy, blood, sweat and tears to shutting down ICE contracts across the nation, are all around us. We want to remind The White House that; whether they recognize it out not we are real families, that will continue to influence not only the future of this country but also influence the way each everyone of the members of our communities live and do business.
We are your teachers, we are your students, we are your brothers and sisters. We are integrated into every aspect of this city, our surrounding cities and beyond.
US immigration law is broken and USCIS is implementing the use of federal resources to remove our positive integration. If you feel the pain we suffered, by all of us in words I'm speaking today, then commit yourself to reform the system, to reunite families and get our innocent children out of prison.
It is with a heavy heart that we reach out to our strong, loving and supportive community in a time of extreme pain and crisis for one of our beloved friends, teachers and coworker - Hector Canedo-Sanchez. Despite adhering to all the legal channels and programs at his disposal for the last decade, due to thoughtless changes and repeals to existing immigration procedure, Hector is now facing imminent deportation.
As we watch him reach the end of his admirable emotional, mental and physical capacity, the time has come to reach out our community to gather what resources we can spare to assist him. It is our goal to raise $25,000 for hector to help him continue to fund his legal fees to appeal the judgement and deportation order that he has received, to help support him in the likely event that he will have to return to Mexico (where he has not lived since he was 8 years old) and for him to pursue other avenues to return to the states.
Hector is in need of personal space right now to deal with his immigration case, academic work, and teaching load. Prayers, donations, and willingness to show up in solidarity when it is needed, will be most helpful at this time. We will send out another community notice if collective action is needed.It would be greatly appreciated if you could please honor his commitment to focus on his classroom and refrain from approaching him directly with condolences or words of support. We strive to allow him the dignity of receiving our support and proffering his thanks on his own terms, when he is able.
He is in dire need of our help to assist with legal fees for his appeal, and worst case scenario, relocation assistance and support if he has to return to Mexico. If that unbearable event should come about, he will need continued support to petition for reentry or citizenship from there if he is to have any chance of continuing to raise his young daughter or of returning to the teaching career he is so passionate about and has fought so hard for. Please read through to the end for his full story in his own words and consider making whatever contribution you can, however small or large. Please also share his story with anyone you know who might like to know it and might wish to support him.
One of the highest hopes we can have for our children’s education is that they get as many caring and inspiring teachers as possible, and in that respect Hector is a legendary teacher in the making. Hector has been a 3rd grade teacher at Bridger Elementary since the fall of 2018, but in his short tenure, his impact in and out of the classroom has been poignant and powerful. At the end of his first year, it was beyond moving how many students were near tears in expressing their love and gratitude for their Maestro. One particularly stoic child who had struggled to find his way academically and emotionally until that time gushed that he never thought he could ever like school until he had Hector as his teacher.
With his typical incontrovertible grace , Hector has been 100% present for his classroom while he has silently been juggling completion of his masters degree work, navigation of an expensive legal process and the painful and complicated termination of his marriage. He is steadfastly calm, thoughtful and supportive with his students while battling unimaginable stress and strain.
For those of you have do not know the full story of his experience, please click on the links below for the full story and a short televised news excerpt (it is the first clip and Hector is featured at the end) from a rally that took place last summer. Below that link are excerpts from the full speech that Hector gave at that rally.
https://www.koin.com/local/multnomah-county/lights-for-liberty-to-encircle-portland-ice-center/
Hector Canedo-Sanchez
7-12-19
I wanna thank God and everyone for your presence here tonight. Your presence means so much to me, my family and everyone in the fight.
I want to send my thoughts and prayers to the family and friends of Betsy Moreno, a mother from Cornelius, who was recently detained by ICE. She will be awaiting her first hearing at the Tacoma ICE Detention Center. I dedicate this speech to her.
On October 2016 approximately 4 am, I woke up to loud knocking at my front door. I walked out in my pajamas to meet 3 ICE officers in full tactical gear. They advised there was a federal warrant out for my arrest and added that they were not required to show me the warrant because it was an administrative warrant. They said “Turn around and put your hands behind your head” My wife came to the door and stood in disbelief. My 4-year-old daughter was sleeping in her room. Thank God.
I was transported from my home in Beaverton to here; this building which we stand in front of today. The arresting officer told me, “We needed to take care of some administrative paperwork first…”
After a day and a half of curling into my pajamas for warmth, sleeping on a cold concrete slab, I was confused to see an officer outside my jail cell lining up other detainees for transportation. As the officer started frisking us one by one, I approached the officer and explained I had wrapped my body underneath my clothes with tissues paper during the night for insulation to stay warm.. He gave me an angry look but then said “Thanks for being honest with me”.
At the Tacoma detention center, I automatically became the translator not only for the other detainees, but also for the ICE officers! I was sought out by ICE agents to translate various protocols and legal information to other detainees.
(I thought I was working hard enough as a de-escalation supervisor for the company I was working for at the time... boy, did I not have the slightest clue as to how much harder I was going to have to work to survive at the detention center).
My communication skills made the ICE officers job a whole lot easier.
I worked tirelessly day and night for 30 days straight by myself and with limited contact to my private immigration lawyer. I even worked through a terrible sickness that I incurred from stress, and the horrible conditions there. I felt I couldn’t give up.
As a detainee we are not entitled to legal representation nor interpretation services. Honestly, I felt I was forced to be the legal representation and the interpreter for the ICE staff.
Nevertheless through my dedication I earned the respect of the entire community of detainees I was living with. I learned so much about the “fighting will to provide for your family” as I got to know my Hatian, Guatemalan, Honduran, and Salvadoran brothers.
With the grace of God, my lawyer and the presiding Judge agreed to a low bond after reviewing my file. Despite the federal prosecutor’s recommendation for a high bond amount so I would be held in detention rather than free while awaiting my second and third hearing.
After paying the federal government the bond amount, I was released and reunited with my beautiful little girl; who was so confused about where her daddy was the morning I was separated from her, until the morning she saw me walking out of Tacoma ICE in my pajamas.
I thought the toughest part was over. But God had bigger plans for me. USCIS confiscated my DACA work permit which is consequently linked to my drivers license (this true for all DACA recipients). At this point I found myself unable to provide for my family and without legal means of transportation. To add insult to injury; our apartments were gentrified and the entire building was served a “No cause eviction notice”. More than 90 of our neighbors were, including my family, were displaced.
I found myself with very little money, wandering the streets of Southeast Portland, literally, begging small business owners for any kind of work. I knew this was not the way but I had no option. Then God answered my prayers and gave me a job as a janitor for a convenience store. I worked my way to merchandise manager working 16+ hour shifts, alone for 2 years, sending money to support my daughter in Beaverton.
In those years I saved enough money to put myself in a graduate school. Now I am a full time MAT student and a full time teacher with the city of Portland! The students that I teach are deeply inspired by my story immigration story. And they inspired me to build fruitful career where I have the tremendous joy of making a living applying my true talent as a teacher.
I want the “take-away” from my testimony tonight to be:
The injustices that impact us at the US/Mexico border directly impact your and my neighborhood. They impact members of the community in Gresham, Oregon City, Salem, Beaverton, Hillsboro, our brothers and sisters in Washington, California and beyond. The reason to commit your: time, energy, blood, sweat and tears to shutting down ICE contracts across the nation, are all around us. We want to remind The White House that; whether they recognize it out not we are real families, that will continue to influence not only the future of this country but also influence the way each everyone of the members of our communities live and do business.
We are your teachers, we are your students, we are your brothers and sisters. We are integrated into every aspect of this city, our surrounding cities and beyond.
US immigration law is broken and USCIS is implementing the use of federal resources to remove our positive integration. If you feel the pain we suffered, by all of us in words I'm speaking today, then commit yourself to reform the system, to reunite families and get our innocent children out of prison.
Fundraising team: Help Hector (3)
Dee Reddy
Organizer
Portland, OR
Hector Canedo-Sanchez
Beneficiary
Mara Zusman
Team member
Susan Anglada Bartley
Team member