CLEARLAKE >> A first confirmed case of a county resident without documents is fighting for his freedom, while trying to establish a legal right to remain in the U.S, came to light on Wednesday when a Clearlake man was apprehended by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents.
Apolinario (Polo) Puente drove his 11-year-old son, at 8:15 a.m. to the Pomo Elementary School and left him by the parents’ parking lot. When he pulled into the street to go to a second destination, his car was surrounded by several cars with flashing lights and he was then asked to abandon his car. Puente was then detained by ICE agents in one of their cars for a brief time on the same block across from the school’s parents’ parking lot, according to his wife Melissa.
Puente was taken to a van parked on Lakeshore Drive near the Valero gas station. According to Melissa Puente, they waited nearly an hour while other people were apprehended and placed in the van. When it was nearly full, the van then drove to the ICE Building on Sansome Street in San Francisco and Puente was there for about four or five hours. When she called the ICE office, she was granted permission to visit him with her son.
Yet when Melissa Puente and her son arrived, they were told Polo Puente had just been transported. After venting her frustration questioning whether she took too long to make the drive from Lake County, agents then disclosed they discovered Puente was actually still in custody at the San Francisco office. Agents then permitted her a 10 minute meeting.
“But they wouldn’t tell me if they had an immigration warrant for Polo or give me any other information,” Melissa said. She said the agents led her to believe they took her husband to a detention center in Bakersfield, but ICE had taken Polo to the town of McFarland, about a 25-minute drive northwest of Bakersfield. “I talked to Polo for a minute on the phone she said. “Polo said he was given the choice of either proceeding with the deportation process or to see a judge” she recalled. “He chose to see a judge.”
At the time of his detention, Puente was working for a nonprofit, Citizens 4 Clearlake. as a yard hand, clearing illegally dumped trash or cleaning up from construction debris. They’re a group focused on cleaning up illegal dump sites and other litter in the city.
Puente first arrived in the U.S. when he was 16. He was told he could make a better life for himself and escape the proliferating gang conflict by leaving for America. Yet he could not afford attorney fees to immigrate legally so he managed to slip across the border undetected. Mere hours later he was asked by a border patrol agent if he was an American and when he answered no, he was deported the same day, recalled Melissa.
“When Polo returned a second time he stayed with aunts and uncles in the Los Angeles area,” she said. “He immediately started working in restaurants. Moving to San Joaquine County, Puente stayed with an aunt and uncle who became like his mom and dad, added Melisa. “He always worked and paid his taxes. Soon he was befriended by Barbara Christwitz, who provided him with various work assignments for Citizens 4 Clearlake.
“He did painting and cleaning, and painted the Gazebo at Redbud Park,” said Christwitz. “He helped me take mattresses to the land fill. He also worked for a landlord who owns many homes in Lake County. Polo built a porch for the house he was renting. When I first met Polo he was working as a vineyard pruner and drove a tractor for them, He was very capable with vineyard tools.”
Polo is also a devoted father, and a model neighbor recalled Christwitz. “When I asked him to turn down the radio, he always complied. “And when he asked if he could get some work helping Citizens 4 Clearlake, we overwhelmingly said yes. We wanted Polo to help us paint the Gazebo at Redbud Park. He was always on time for work and would stay to complete his tasks. He was able to operate power tools and was a capable car mechanic who repaired his own and others’ cars. I feel like he was a good neighbor and friend.”
Another good friend of Polo Puente was a co-worker for the Citizens 4 Clearlake nonprofit, Molly Lang. Lang, now retired, ran her own landscaping design business in Redwood City, Saratoga, Palo Alto and Menlo Park. “We all thought, what a great structure the Gazebo in Redbud Park was. We got private donations to pay for the paint and other tools.”
Melissa recalled that ICE always knew of their whereabouts because they changed residences several times and informed immigration authorities of their new address each time. “They knew he was not dangerous. They always had access to him. But they chose to stalk him and hunt like an animal.”
Melissa also knew of the advocacy of the ACLU but when Polo was picked up, she said she had forgotten to seek their assistance, but she has put it on her calendar for this month. “I know Catholic Charities of Santa Rosa helped people in the past with legal work.” She added that she tried earlier to contact immigration attorneys an eventually succeeded, but they explained to her it would cost lots of money and Polo in the end may get deported anyways.
Melissa noted it is mostly unfortunate the U.S has come to this situation. she has wondered if people who know Polo, had informed ICE that he was illegal and divulged his location in order to collect a reward, but she was unsure if it could be true. “I’m in shock and angry, she said. “ICE knew Polo’s profile. Why didn’t they just come to our house and ring the bell?”
When Clearlake Police Department officials were contacted by this newspaper, the department stated they would assist with questions regarding immigration enforcement and policies for Clearlake in the wake of the shifting federal policies in the government with the new administration, but questions regarding said policies sent to the department in February have not been answered.
Becky Salato Superintendent at Konocti Unified Schools said during a judge’s breakfast forum in Clearlake earlier this month that she has seen a downturn in school attendance, dropping to 50 percent as people choose to stay home, or even move out of the county due to fear. Dr. Nicki Thomas, Kelseyville Unified School’s superintendent responded holding back tears, sharing that they have only been affected secondarily by ICE thus far, as the “rumor mill” has created a real fear for kids as they wonder if their parents will still be home after school. She noted that the official school policy is that she is the only person on campus that can speak to any agents, and never would she allow a student to be removed from class.
