BY CARL SEGERSTROM
MY FAMILY
IS ALL I HAVE
Creswell man faces deportation stem-
ming from charges since dismissed
S
ervando Lomeli Ramirez came to the U.S. ille-
gally in 1991 when he was 16. He has been living
in an average house on an average street in Cre-
swell, a home decorated with family pictures and
motivational sayings on the wall.
But the 43-year-old millworker’s life is no longer aver-
age.
Lomeli is now being held by Immigration and Customs
Enforcement in Tacoma, Washington. He faces deportation
for illegal reentry after a crime he says he didn’t commit
and that is no longer on his record.
His wife, Damyhana Lomeli, speaks to Servando daily
via collect calls from ICE’s detention center. He speaks
mostly Spanish in a hushed voice. “I am fighting for my
family,” Servando Lomeli says. “My kids, my wife and my
pets are all I have.”
In 2002, more than a decade after his arrival in the U.S.,
Servando Lomeli was deported by ICE for a crime that was
later removed from his record. Lomeli says he reentered
to take care of his oldest son, who was neglected by his
mother, Lomeli’s ex-girlfriend. He is the sole provider for
a family of four and has not had any run-ins with local law
enforcement since that incident.
Lomeli was also held by ICE in 2013 and 2016 but was
not deported because of the circumstances of his case and
because his presence is so important to his family.
In a handwritten letter from 2013, Servando Lomeli’s
eldest son, who was 13 at the time and is autistic, pleads
for his dad to be released from ICE custody. In the letter,
his son writes about how he misses his dad and needs him
to take care of their family. He writes, “For the first time
since I was a little kid my life finally seemed normal like
everybody else’s.”
The son writes, “Why does a piece of paper got to ruin
my life! I am very scared and confused and want my dad.
He is the only one who takes care of me and I need him
here.”
During the same detention, Lomeli’s younger son
wrote, “I miss my dad very much. I cry for him every night.
I am scared.”
Lomeli’s original deportation stemmed from an incident
in 2001. His ex called the Springfield Police Department
and said he had physically abused her. He was arrested and
charged with two counts of felony assault.
Servando Lomeli says he slapped his ex once after she
slashed at him twice with a knife. He says the argument
ensued after he came home from work to find his infant
child neglected and the mother on drugs.
The accuser and a friend of hers who was present say
he struck his ex as she defended herself with a knife. Each
also alleges that there was a history of abuse, though no
previous charges exist.
Though Servando maintains his innocence, he took the
advice of his court-appointed lawyer and pleaded guilty.
After serving time in jail, he was deported in 2002. A failed
border-crossing attempt followed, after which he reentered
the United States illegally in 2003 because, he says, he was
worried about the health and safety of his son.
ICE provided a statement to the family that said there
was nothing wrong with his 2002 deportation and that the
agency will continue with deportation proceedings.
8
May 11, 2017 • eugeneweekly.com
PHOTO: COURTESY LOMELI FAMILY
‘It’s a sympathetic
case because he’s a
good man and doesn’t
deserve anything that
happened to him.’
— RAQUEL HECHT, IMMIGRATION ATTORNEY
Eugene-based immigration attorney Raquel Hecht has
been working with Servando Lomeli since 2013. “I don’t
agree that there’s no defect,” she says of the case. “He is
eligible for relief that he didn’t get.”
She adds, “It’s a sympathetic case because he’s a good
man and doesn’t deserve anything that happened to him.
He should have the chance to argue his case to a judge.”
ICE spokesperson Rose Richeson tells Eugene Weekly
that Lomeli is a priority for removal because of his previ-
ous deportation. The Executive Office of Immigration Re-
view did not respond to further questions about the specif-
ics of his case.
Sen. Ron Wyden’s office tells EW that it contacted
ICE after Lomeli’s family asked for help getting answers
from federal authorities. “The office continues to monitor
the case to ensure he is treated fairly,” Wyden’s office re-
ported. Sen. Jeff Merkley’s office confirms it has been in
contact with ICE as well.
Lomeli returned to the U.S. in 2003 after police re-
sponded to a call that his son, who was three at the time
and living with Lomeli’s ex, was wandering around the
neighborhood wearing only a diaper.
According to the officer’s report, when police entered
the house they observed “clothes, shoes, beer bottles, ciga-
rettes, dirt, old food, and bugs” on the floor. As they were
speaking with the mother, the officers saw the child “walk
to the kitchen and start to eat old, rotten food off of the
floor.”
The officers stopped the child several times from eating
the rotten food.
According to the police report, Lomeli’s ex admitted to
smoking methamphetamine when the child is in the house.
The child entered state custody following the arrest of the
mother.
The 2002 charges against Servando Lomeli were dis-
missed and his guilty plea was vacated by a Lane County
Circuit Court judge in 2016.
The attorney who helped Servando get the charges dis-
missed is Richard Brissenden, a municipal judge in Flor-
ence. Brissenden has been on the Lane County Domestic
Violence Council for 17 years and has worked on domestic
violence case for nearly 30 years.
Brissenden says the conviction was vacated because
there was insufficient evidence, and because Lomeli was
not properly represented by his public defender.
Statements from Lomeli’s immigration case file de-
scribe him as a dedicated and beloved father. Servando
got full legal custody of his eldest son in 2009 and of his
younger son in 2011.
When Servando was detained in 2013, the special edu-
cation teacher for his younger son at Douglas Gardens El-
ementary in Springfield wrote a letter describing Servando
as an engaged father helping his son work through behav-
ioral issues.
In the statement, Rachelle Depner points to the growth
of Lomeli’s younger son during his time in Lomeli’s care.
“Servando’s support has been an asset in helping [his son]
make progress in behavior and academics,” she writes.
Lomeli’s longtime employer vouches for him as well.
“Servando has worked for us for more than 20 years” she
says. She asked to only provide her last name, Parmenter,
to protect her company. “It’s inhumane to take him away
from his kids and family that depend on him.”
Parmenter says that during the two decades she has
known Lomeli, he has been a reliable worker and dedi-
cated father.
“It needs to be out there how much immigrants contrib-
ute,” Parmenter says.
Damyhana Lomeli verges on tears whenever she talks
about her husband and her fears of his being deported. She
has struggled herself with legal problems, health issues and
addiction. “I’m no angel,” she admits.
Servando Lomeli has been the one stable and reliable
thing in their family’s lives. “He saved me,” she says.
“He’s always tried to get me to do the right thing.”
“I am so scared right now,” Damyhana Lomeli says. “I
have no idea what we will do without him.”