ICE dragged him from his doorstep in January. His elderly partner fears he'll die in detention
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Set us as preferred Rafael Vela Gonzalez was a few steps away from the front door of his Silver Lake home when two Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents grabbed him in early January.The 66-year-old, originally from El Salvador, had been in the U.S.since he was a teenager.
His boyish grin was a fixture in his tight-knit neighborhood for more than three decades.Neighbors always waved at Vela Gonzalez as he walked his German shepherd, Chico.He retired as a handyman a few years ago but passed the time caring for his aging partner, Vivian Lee Arguello, and doing odd jobs around the neighborhood to make ends meet.
He built the baby crib that welcomed a couple’s first child.He painted bedrooms, took charge of the block’s recycling efforts and fixed countless plumbing problems.
Now, after nearly eight months in ICE detention, Vela Gonzalez can barely stand, his loved ones say.A mysterious rash has spread across his legs, and blood oozes from the sores.
He doesn’t know what caused it, but his feet are so swollen he struggles to walk.He complained of stomach pain for weeks, until he collapsed in his cell in June, said his lawyer, Barbara Darnell, and spent nearly a week in the hospital.“The biggest fear for a lot of the family is that he was just either going to disappear or he was going to get sick in there and die,” said Ashley Cabrera, 23, a loved one whom Vela Gonzalez calls his niece.
“He keeps complaining about these health concerns and the facility doesn’t care.” California A federal court judge ordered sweeping changes at the Adelanto ICE Processing Center in Southern California two weeks ago.But some detainees say issues persist.The Adelanto ICE Processing Center has, for years, been accused of substandard living conditions.
Detainees have reported worm-like creatures in their drinking water, launched ...