Filipino Green Card holder freed after 3 months in ICE detention

A judge released Cloyd Edralin of Highland Park, New Jersey from ICE custody. INQUIRER FILE

A Filipino legal immigrant, who has a valid Green Card and has lived in the United States for 30 years, was freed from an immigration detention facility after 3 1/2 months.

Cloyd Edralin of Highland Park, New Jersey, who was arrested in June for deportation due 12-year-old weapon conviction, was released last week after a judge ordered a “Cancellation of Removal.”

Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents arrested Edralin outside his home June 4 as he got ready for work.

Read: Filipino green card holder facing deportation after ICE arrest

“They were asking if I had the weapon, so I was a bit confused. And then when they said, ‘You have weapons charges,’ I said, ‘That’s back in 2007.’ ‘So, where’s the weapon?’” Edralin told News 12 New Jersey.

Edralin had been cited for possessing a BB gun when he was pulled over by police for a traffic stop in 2007. He was put on probation for four years. He is among many immigrants detained by ICE since President Donald Trump came into office.

Members of his community rallied around his wife and children. He can now apply to become an American citizen.

Edralin’s attorney, Justin English, told News 12 New Jersey that it has been a difficult climate for immigrants under the Trump administration. “Under a different administration Cloyd would not be on the radar of ICE.”