A Park City High School graduate who was set to receive his bachelor’s degree from the University of Utah on Friday night was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents this week. Lisandro Pantaleon Pacheco was pulled over on S.R. 224 around 5:30 a.m. on Wednesday, according to his attorney, Adam Crayk, who held a press conference on Pacheco’s detainment the following morning. Crayk said Pacheco has no criminal history and that he was on his way to his first day of work at The Bagel Den in Kimball Junction when he was detained. He is currently being held in Evanston, Wyoming. Enrique Sanchez, whose brother was a classmate of Pacheco’s at Park City High School, said Pacheco and his girlfriend, Britney Xiques, planned to get engaged this week, but she became concerned when she wasn’t hearing back from him on Wednesday morning. “She knew he was supposed to be heading to work, so when she saw that he was on his way to Salt Lake City, she thought he was going to surprise her because she had an exam,” Sanchez said. “When she saw that he got off at the Redwood (Road) exit and then made his way to the Immigration Court in West Valley City, she knew something was wrong.” Crayk said he has no information on the reason for Pacheco’s detainment and questioned whether it was a “profiling situation” during Thursday’s press conference. He said Pacheco’s mother brought him from Mexico to the United States when he was only 1 year old, which he argued was a misdemeanor that was committed by an infant. “He didn’t have (a) choice,” Crayk said. “During many administrations, our border laws have been lax. They haven’t been strictly enforced.” Sanchez said Pacheco planned to take more classes after graduation so he could apply to medical school, adding that it was difficult to hear negative comments about Pacheco based on his immigration status. “Someone who grew up in our town, went to our school, is being painted as something he is not by officials,” Sanchez said. “They have promised to get the worst of the worst, and who they got is a working community member who’s about to graduate college.” Approximately 100 people attended the press conference on Thursday to support Pancheco, according to Sanchez. He said it was a testament to the strength of the Park City community and how it “stands up for its own.” Parkites are also supporting Pancheco and his family financially, donating more than $19,000 on GoFundMe in only 8 hours. The fundraiser described Pacheco as a person who “makes every room a little warmer with his smile” and touted Pacheco’s dedication to his education, including his participation in programs like Dream Big, Bright Futures and Latinos in Action. “As many of you know, legal representation in immigration cases is expensive,” the description said. “We are in urgent and dire need of contributions to bring Lisandro home, where he deserves to be, getting ready for his graduation. The funds raised here will go directly toward legal fees, bond if applicable, and support his family during what is an unimaginably painful time.” Sanchez said Pacheco’s detainment and ICE’s recent operations in Park City have created a “real fear” in the ski town’s Hispanic community, even for individuals with a legal status. “There were also reports of other people who were U.S. citizens, but because they simply came out of a predominantly Hispanic neighborhood, they were pulled over,” he said. Pacheco had previously attempted to gain legal status in the United States through the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, “but the government closed it down before he was able” to obtain the necessary documents, Sanchez said. Sanchez is familiar with immigration law because of his own status as a DACA recipient, but also because of his work with the American Business Immigration Coalition. He said he had just returned from Washington, D.C., where he was speaking to members of Congress about immigration policy. “We work on common-sense immigration solutions at the federal level to actually have situations like this not happen, to get work permits for people who have been here long term and citizenship for dreamers like Lisandro,” Sanchez said. “Then to come home and this is happening right outside of the home I grew up in has really been a shock.” The post ICE agents detain Park City High School alumnus 2 days before University of Utah graduation appeared first on Park Record. ...read more read less