Supporters gathered outside the offices of Immigration & Customs Enforcement in Hartford Thursday to rally for a Stamford father who was facing deportation.
Nelson Santos was supposed to be deported to his native Honduras. He found out Thursday, just four days before he was supposed to leave, that ICE has granted him a six-month stay, according to Sen. Richard Blumenthal.
Supporters say Santos has lived in Connecticut for 30 years, is married to a U.S. citizen and the couple is raising three kids in Stamford.
He's scheduled to receive dialysis and a kidney transplant at the end of the summer. Supporters said they had feared he would not get this treatment if he returned to Honduras.
“It violates everything we know about who we are and what we are. We don’t send people away to death. That’s not who we are as Americans," said Gov. Dannel Malloy.
Santos said he is thankful for the stay, but many are hopeful he will be allowed to remain in the U.S. beyond that.
“I want to say thank you everybody, for your guy’s help, you helping me a lot," Santos said.
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NBC Connecticut has reached out to ICE for a comment but have not yet heard back.
