Argentine facing deportation after helping feds undercover wins reprieve

Undercover informant facing deportation wins stay

NEW YORK — An Argentine man who worked for years as an undercover informant for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, only to be detained by his handlers and face imminent deportation as an illegal immigrant, has been granted a reprieve.

Emilio Maya’s request for a stay of deportation was granted after U.S. Rep. Maurice Hinchey, D-NY, submitted a rare private bill in Congress requesting that Maya, 34, and his 30-year-old sister, Analia, be granted legal status.

The Mayas, who entered the U.S. as visitors in the 1990s and stayed, ran a small cafe in the Hudson River town of Saugerties, in Hinchey’s district. Emilio was a volunteer firefighter, and Analia served as a Spanish-language interpreter for the local police, a contact that led them to ICE.

They were introduced to the world of confidential informants through a friend, police officer Sidney Mills. Hoping to help the siblings work toward legal residency status, Mills set up their original meeting with ICE agents in 2005 and was present for some of their undercover jobs.

For the next four years, the Mayas said, they risked their safety working long hours undercover. Wearing wires, they infiltrated a prostitution ring, worked in a factory that hired undocumented workers and provided information on human smuggling operations and gangs.

However, according to the Mayas, instead of receiving the promised “S” visa, which could lead to permanent legal status, ICE informed them last year that their information was no longer useful and they could be deported.

“After being treated unfairly for so long and being threatened with immediate deportation, the Maya family today received some long-awaited positive news,” Hinchey said when the stay was announced late Thursday.

An elated Analia shouted “that is fantastic news” in a phone interview and immediately started planning an elaborate celebration at the cafe, called Tango.

The plight of the Mayas drew international attention after an Associated Press article on Sunday detailed their story.

Although they had promised ICE never to talk publicly about their work, the siblings said they turned to Hinchey out of desperation and fear.

The congressman, who occasionally has lunch at the cafe, intervened directly after Emilio was arrested last November and jailed for 15 days. He was not charged with a crime and was given little explanation except that he was “being deactivated.”

Emilio was released after Hinchey personally called ICE, but was ordered to leave the country by March 2. Analia was ordered to attend a hearing in Immigration Court on March 5.

ICE has given no explanation for its handling of the Mayas’ case. ICE spokesman Brian Hale said earlier that the agency couldn’t discuss any case involving informants, though he explained that in general, “there has to be a significant benefit to the government,” in order for informants to receive legal papers.

Hale said Friday that he could not comment on the reprieve. The ICE letter informing Emilio of his stay, a copy of which was obtained by the AP, says it was granted pending the outcome of the Hinchey bill.

Private bills are occasionally used to provide relief from immigration laws for compelling cases. But there are complex rules governing their introduction and they are extremely difficult to pass. Still, Hinchey’s office said that it was hopeful, regardless of the outcome of the bill, that the additional year would give it time to work with ICE to gain permanent status for the Mayas.