A man told to come to immigration headquarters with a ticket to Mexico on Tuesday will have to wait a few more days for a decision on whether or not he will be allowed to stay in the United States.
Noe Adan Carlos-Herrera is the father of a US citizen, but is undocumented himself - and his story creates a lot of uncertainty for others like him.
Herrera first showed up on Immigration and Customs Enforcement's radar four years ago following a traffic violation. Since then, he has been fighting to stay in the country with his 5-year-old daughter.
This year, under President Donald Trump's administration, that struggle has become more difficult.
Immigration attorneys say meetings like Tuesday's used to be routine check-ins, but are now sources of stress and anxiety, as the rules have seemingly changed.
"What we are experiencing, every time we go into check-ins now, is an entirely new process," said Herrera's attorney, Lam Ho of the Community Activism Law Alliance. "We have been told at these check ins, policies are different, they have changed."
"All the orders say all the policies that have existed, throw them out the window," Ho continued. "We basically have no policies. We have no priorities. We have no specific indications of who we want to deport, who we want under the law to stay in this country."
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In front of Chicago’s ICE office, protesters gathered Tuesday in support of Herrera and to demand a fair hearing.
He was told to arrive with a plane ticket in hand, should authorities decide not to grant him a stay of removal and instead send him back to Mexico immediately.
Herrera said he is not afraid, because he has the power of his community behind him - a community that will be crucial, according to Ho.
"The community continuing to stand up for him, to show their support, is absolutely critical for a very discretionary decision," Ho said.
While Herrera met with ICE officials, protesters outside got on their cell phones to call the agency and lobby on his behalf.
He emerged from the meeting with no clear decision, as authorities said ICE will let him know by Friday if he gets to stay in the country.
"For the time being, he does not have to come back," said Rodrigo Antunez, of Organized Communities Against Deportation. "We are still waiting on the outcome of it, whatever it is."
So for now, Herrera and the family he provides for will wait to see if he will be allowed to stay for another year, or be deported to Mexico with a ticket he has already paid for.
