Undocumented Honduras man married to a US citizen, USC kids, no criminal history yet ICE arrested him

[link to www.cincinnati.com]

The couple's marriage petition had been approved by an immigration official.

Felix Yulian "Julian" Motino, a Honduran national who'd entered the country illegally in 2005, wanted to begin the process of gaining legal status. It was a longshot, but he'd built a life here and wanted to try to come out of the shadows. He worked as a house painter and paid taxes and had two U.S.-born children, ages 9 and 6, and a U.S.-born wife of two years.

Motino, 31, sat with his wife, East Price Hill native Alexis Motino, 26, and their lawyer, Matthew Benson, in a small office on the fourth floor of the federal building on Main Street, Downtown. They'd gone voluntarily, having requested the appointment six weeks earlier, to meet with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.

For 45 minutes, the couple provided documents that included their marriage certificate from May 15, 2015, utility bills bearing both of their names, her U.S. birth certificate and his Honduran passport. They thumbed through their wedding album and showed the agent photographs of themselves from the early years of their relationship.

The USCIS agent, named Carlos, said toward the end of the meeting that he had to make copies of their ID cards. The agent came back to his office and asked the couple to have a seat in the lobby, where his supervisor, Julie, would speak to them.

"Julie said, 'Felix, we need you to come outside into the hallway,' " Alexis Motino said.

There, two officers from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement met him and said, "We need you to come with us."

Benson objected. His client had been here 12 years. He had no criminal record. He had a U.S. citizen wife and two citizen children. He paid child support to the children's mother. Their marriage petition had just been approved minutes earlier.

Alexis Motino burst into tears.