A pizza delivery to a military base ended with the snagging of an undocumented immigrant worker who was arrested as soon as he handed the cheesy grub over to officials.
Pablo Villavicencio, who is originally from Ecuador, often made pizza deliveries to Fort Hamilton garrison in south Brooklyn without incident but on Friday night he found himself at the hands of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, CBS News reported.
A judge had reportedly ordered Villavicencio deported in 2010 but the father of two, whose wife is an American citizen, had applied for a green card earlier this year.
Villavicencio said officials at the military post knew him but when he arrived there Friday, a different security guard was on duty and told him to get another pass before entering.
He followed these instructions but at that point, Villavicencio said "a tall man with dark skin" began to grill him on why he did not have a Social Security card.
"He called the NYPD and the NYPD told him I didn’t have any record, that I was clean," Villavicencio told The New York Post from immigration detention.
An unidentified sergeant even tried to intervene, jumping to Villavicencio's defense but his attempts were fruitless as authorities contacted ICE.
A Fort Hamilton spokeswoman noted that Villavicencio could not produce a proper ID when making the delivery and was told to obtain a pass but, upon signing a waiver for a background check, an active ICE warrant was discovered.
Villavicencio is slated for deportation within days and his wife, Sandra Chica, is distraught.
"It’s cruel that they’re going to separate my daughters from him," she told the New York Post. "He’s supporting the family and now I’m going to be by myself with them."
The incident has drawn backlash as activists and state officials band together to support Villavicencio.
Among them is New York City Councilman Justin Brannan and Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams, who took a stand on Wednesday.
"Tell me how this is American," Brannan posted to Twitter. "Tell me how taking Pablo off the street makes our nation safer."
Brannan further noted that a rally was scheduled to take place Wednesday evening in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, at 6 p.m. local time.
The New York Immigration Commission said it was "absolutely disgusting when the strongest military in the world punches down by going after pizza delivery men," CBS News noted.
There have been other incidents where no mercy was shown.
Earlier this year 39-year-old Jorge Garcia was deported to Mexico after 30 years as a resident of Michigan, where he lived with his wife and two children and worked as landscaper.
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