A man who was picked up by Immigration and Customs Enforcement outside his daughter's school has been granted a reprieve. The final deportation order for Romulo Avelica has been vacated. Avelica's lawyer, Alan Diamante told KFI's Andrew Mollenbeck that the case now returns to a local immigration court to see if the order will be reinstated.
"We have to prove that a United States citizen child, minor child, will suffer an exceptional and extremely unusual hardship if he's forced to leave the country."
Avelica's daughter Fatima says she's excited at the prospect of having her dad come home.
"It's very exciting, we're a step closer to having him back in the house with us."
Avelica's story made national headlines after his daughter filmed ICE agents taking him into custody while dropping his daughters off at school in Highland Park. The deportation order for Avelica stemmed from a misdemeanor charges dating back 20 years. The 49-year-old has lived in the U.S. for almost thirty years .
He was granted an emergency stay of removal on Monday while judges took a second look at his case. A bond hearing for Avelica has been scheduled for August 30th and he could be released that day.