DENVER – Ingrid LaTorre, the Peruvian national whose plea for a pardon from Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper was denied Thursday, will get around a month to make arrangements for her family before she is deported.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement confirmed Friday to Denver7 it was working with LaTorre’s attorneys regarding her departure since she now has a final order of removal.
LaTorre, 34, had a temporary stay of removal granted earlier this year that expires Friday. Jennifer Piper, an advocate of LaTorre’s said that LaTorre will have 30 days to make final arrangements.
“I appreciate Immigration and Customs Enforcement granting me and my family time,” said LaTorre in a written statement. “My son Bryant’s passport has not yet arrived and my son Anibal has just been ordered to see an eye specialist at Children’s Hospital. The appointments there are booked into October.”
LaTorre has two children who are U.S. citizens, aged 1 and 8.
The stay was granted in May, when LaTorre’s lawyers successfully fought to get her another hearing in Jefferson County District Court on a criminal impersonation conviction from 2010.
LaTorre, who left Peru at age 17, was granted an evidentiary hearing, but a district court judge denied her motion for post-conviction relief on Aug. 29, saying her attorneys had indeed informed her of the consequences her guilty plea on the impersonation charge carried.
She’d argued previously that she was not fully aware of the consequences when she entered her plea.
The 2010 criminal impersonation charge came after she was caught using a Social Security card with someone else’s name and number on it—something she bought in 2002 in order to work.
LaTorre served four years of probation as part of her sentence and paid restitution to the person whose identity was sold to her.
She’d applied to have her removal orders canceled, but the application was denied in 2015. A 2016 appeal was also unsuccessful.
She went into sanctuary at a local church last November before coming out of sanctuary after her latest stay was granted in May.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement had agreed to let the clemency request play out until Friday, when she could have been deported.
But Hickenlooper denied her request on Thursday, issuing a lengthy statement on the decision, which he said was made “with a heavy heart”:
“Occasionally, a governor is faced with a decision with an answer that is clear but still painful. After careful review and with a heavy heart, I have decided to deny Ingrid Encalada LaTorre’s application for clemency. I did not come to this decision lightly. I spoke with her personally, and members of my team met with her and her attorney at length to ensure we had a full account of her case. I am moved by Ms. Encalada LaTorre’s dream of being an American and her extraordinarily hard work to support her family while she was here.”
“At the same time, I must consider the impact of Ms. Encalada LaTorre’s crime on the victim, and most importantly, the precedent clemency would establish. Our country desperately needs comprehensive immigration reform that creates pathways for aspiring Americans like Ms. Encalada LaTorre to become productive, law-abiding citizens. But the crime that Ms. Encalada LaTorre committed was not victimless – far from it. Granting Ms. Encalada LaTorre’s application would compound the injustice of this unfortunate situation, and it would be a step backward in the fight for smart, compassionate and comprehensive immigration reform.
“The victim of this crime spent years dealing with the unlawful use of her Social Security number, suffering significant tax consequences and nearly losing government benefits she needed to support her own family. She opposes clemency for Ms. Encalada LaTorre. The victim is like thousands of others in this country who, through no fault of their own, face long-term consequences when someone commits this type of crime.”
LaTorre issued a statement Friday, saying she was thankful to the community for its support:
“I can’t imagine leaving Colorado, my home of 17 years, to return to Peru. I am so thankful to my community for all the support they have provided me and my family. My struggle will continue wherever I go, no matter what I do next. I hope my story has helped Colorado and Congress to better understand the difficult choices my community face. I hope it motivates them to take action quickly to give my brothers and sisters the second chance I’m being denied.”
This is a developing story; stay posted to Denver7 for updates.