When Juan De La Cruz left his home in Panton Tuesday morning to meet with federal immigration officials in St. Albans, he feared he might never be able to return.
“It was definitely terrifying, because you don’t know what’s going to happen,” De La Cruz said outside the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement field office Tuesday.
De La Cruz came to the United States from Mexico 20 years ago and applied for asylum in 2017. About a week ago, he received an email from federal authorities ordering him to check in with ICE on Tuesday.
He and his wife, Kirsten, said they consulted a lawyer who told them there was a high likelihood that federal immigration authorities planned to detain and deport the father of six. According to the National Immigrant Justice Center, thousands of people have been arrested and detained in recent months at regularly scheduled immigration court hearings and ICE check-ins.
“I felt like my whole world was collapsing,” De La Cruz said.
Word of his predicament spread quickly in Addison County.
By the time he and his family arrived for the check-in, about 200 friends and well-wishers had gathered on the lawn in front of the ICE office. They cheered for De La Cruz as he exited the family’s minivan, sang the national anthem, and then watched him disappear behind the federal building doors.
“I feel like I was going to lose my dad and he was going to have to be gone … so I was going to have to really man up and take care of my mom and sister.”Juan De La Cruz Jr.
When his son emerged, fists pumping, about 20 minutes later, followed closely behind by his mom and dad, the crowd erupted into cheers.
“I know that I wasn’t born here,” De La Cruz told the crowd. “But I’ve been here for over two decades, and I consider this country my own country, and this is my own family. We will keep fighting for it.”
Kirsten De La Cruz said immigration officials directed her husband to come back for in-person check-ins every six months. She said they assured the family that they intended to let him stay in the United States as his asylum case proceeds. His next court hearing is in December 2026.
For De La Cruz’s community, his brush with the federal immigration-enforcement apparatus has personalized the impact of President Donald Trump’s mass deportation campaign.
“I’m alarmed that someone like Juan, who has … been seeking asylum and taking all the right steps and being a member of the community who is giving back and following all the rules and is still being kind of punished by the system he’s trying to work through,” said Helena Van Voorst, a family friend. “And I’m sure he’s not the only person in that situation.”
Erin Reed said her daughter is best friends with De La Cruz’s daughter, and she’s gotten to know the family intimately over the years.
“They would do anything for anyone. Juan and Kirsten would do anything for anyone,” Reed said. “It kind of wakes you up, I think. I have my kids asking me questions. … It’s very hard for adults to comprehend the lack of humanity, let alone children.”
De La Cruz works as a stonemason for a local landscaping company. His former colleague, Zach Sullivan, stood outside the ICE office Tuesday with a sign that read, “We’ve got 99 problems but Juan ain’t one.”
“He’s just an overall generally great guy. Hard worker. Has been here a long time, and is a great citizen, good friend,” Sullivan said. “He’s always there to help whenever anybody needs him, and I think he deserves to be here.”
Dozens of noncitizen Vermonters have been arrested, detained, and in some cases deported over the past eight months. Sullivan said the show of support for De La Cruz Tuesday extended to other Vermont residents who face deportation solely because of their immigration status.
“When something hits this close to home it definitely makes it feel more impactful to our everyday lives,” he said. “So I’ve had an opportunity to be here to help stand up for Juan and all the other immigrants that I think deserve to be here.”
About a dozen members of the Vergennes Union High School football team showed up Tuesday to lend moral support to their teammate, De La Cruz’s son.
Cole Gagnon, 16, said he’s known De La Cruz Jr. since they were in preschool together.
“Like it feels so real now,” he said. “Like, it’s happening to one of our best friends, and it’s terrible.”
De La Cruz Jr. said he hasn’t been able to sleep since the email from federal immigration authorities landed in his father’s inbox last week.
“It’s like living a nightmare,” he said. “I feel like I was going to lose my dad and he was going to have to be gone … so I was going to have to really man up and take care of my mom and sister.”
De La Cruz Jr. said that weight has lifted. His father, meanwhile, said the show of support his family received Tuesday shows why he wants to remain here.
“It’s community. It’s my community,” he said. “My hometown is Panton — that’s where I belong.”
