Immigrant dad who nearly died is among crime victims Trump admin wants to deport

Critics say the outcome harms public safety by making those without legal status unlikely to report crimes and cooperate with police.

MUSCATINE, Iowa — Days after an assailant's bullet tore through two of his limbs, Felipe de Jesus Hernandez Marcelo hobbled out of the hospital on crutches.

Hernandez had nearly died in the early morning of June 21 when, police say, a troubled young man shot him during an attempted robbery in Muscatine, Iowa. A quick emergency response saved his life, but the shooting left the 28-year-old father wounded where a bullet traveled through his arm and leg.

Police had seized the car Hernandez was driving when he was shot and the $462 cash it contained as evidence. A friend took him to the police station to ask for his belongings on June 24 — not knowing the visit could mark the last time he enjoyed freedom in the United States.

Hernandez is one of a growing number of crime victims and relatives who have been arrested and indefinitely detained pending removal proceedings during the Trump administration's crackdown on illegal immigration.

In January, Immigration and Customs Enforcement rescinded a policy that had shielded many victims from detention and removal. The number of people applying for visas that allow some victims and their families to remain in the country has plummeted since then. Others are being detained as they go through the lengthy application process. Of those detained, many have been declared ineligible for release under another ICE policy change.