An Army veteran who has been in ICE custody since January was deported on Friday, Denver7 has learned.
ICE told Denver7 Jose Barco had been removed from the country, confirming what Barco's attorney told the station earlier Friday.
Barco's immigration case has made headlines throughout the year. Barco received a Purple Heart in the military, despite not having legal status in the country. He also has a criminal conviction related to a shooting in southern Colorado in 2008.
He was given a final order of removal in February after being arrested at the Colorado State Penitentiary in Canon City, where ICE said he had been serving a sentence for a conviction of attempted murder, extreme indifference, and felony menacing with a real or simulated weapon, in January.
Barco’s appeals for relief were denied in immigration court in late September and the court ordered his removal to a list of three countries: Venezuela, Cuba and Mexico.
Anna Stout, a volunteer communications and political strategist on Barco’s defense team, told Denver7 on Friday that Barco was removed from the ICE detention facility on Tuesday. She said they learned this only because another detained individual contacted Barco’s family with the news.
“We were not provided any notification from the facility itself from DHS or ICE,” said Stout, who is a city councilwoman in Grand Junction. “Jose was not able to reach out to his family before any of this initiated. So this has been [...] a frustrating process.”
Reports indicate that Barco was initially taken to a facility in Florence, Arizona before he was removed.
Aurora
A veteran, a conviction: One man's story of immigration, potential deportation
