For the past 22 months, a father from Haiti has been calling the Geauga County Jail home, even though he never broke the law.
Nearly two years ago, Ansly Damus presented himself at the U.S. border and requested political asylum.
A judge granted it--twice.
But what Damus never got, was the blessing of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which has held him in custody ever since.
Damus had once been an ethics teacher in Haiti who spoke out against corrupt politicians, only to find himself beaten down and threatened by their loyalists.
He feared for his life.
Yet ICE has held him in detention, appealed his asylum, and denied his parole.
Melody Hart and her husband, Gary Benjamin, have been his sponsors and located Damus’s wife in Haiti and their children, ages 4 and 8.
They visit him each week, speaking through closed-circuit television at the jail. They say his room does not have a window.
“Except there’s a library with a little window so he says when ‘I want to see the sun I go to the library,’ Benjamin said. “Deterrence is pretty clearly what they’re after. It’s not justice.”
“He hasn’t been outside, there’s no place for him to exercise,” said Hart.
The case is so unusual, that Damus’s attorney says she has never seen anything like it. She also worries there may be no end in sight, since ICE can continue to appeal each of Damus’s asylums.
The ACLU is looking into legal options.
“He’s being punished for trying to come here legally,” Gary Benjamin said. “He’s a mild-mannered guy who’s very bright and likes to teach and talk. He speaks four languages. It’s not like he wouldn’t have something to offer us if they just let him out and give him the asylum.”
They are encouraging people to reach out to lawmakers and use the hashtag #FreeAnsly.
They are also planning to rally for Ansly Damus outside’s the ICE office in Brooklyn Heights on Monday at 6 p.m.