Restaurant owner receives temporary stop on deportation
Marco Saavedra, the owner of La Morada, in
the South Bronx, who is fi ghting for asylum.
Schneps Media/ Jason Cohen
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BY JASON COHEN
For nearly a decade, Marco Saavedra,
owner of a popular south Bronx
eatery, has led the fi ght for immigrant
rights in the United States.
On Thursday, November 7, Saavedra
received a temporary halt in his
deportation case. His next court appearance
is January 7, 2020, where a
federal judge will determine a fi nal
ruling.
Saavedra is requesting asylum because
advocates for human rights and
migrants in Mexico face persecution,
and he will be at risk if he is forced to
return.
Saavedra, 30, owns La Morada, 308
Willis Avenue, in Mott Haven, which
specializes in Oaxacan food.
After self-deporting in 2013, he
has been fi ghting for political asylum
since.
With more than 4,000 people signing
an online petition and a packed
courthouse, the support has been overwhelming,
he said.
“I think the hearing went as well as
it could have went,” Saavedra said. “I
put myself on the front line believing
in immigration rights.”
Saavedra grew up poor in Mexico
and his parents Antonio and Natalia
envisioned a life for them in the USA.
At 4-years-old, he came here undocumented,
and today his family lives in
Washington Heights.
He attended Kenyon College in
Gambier, OH, but upon entering his junior
year was not sure what he wanted
to do after school. So, he spent a semester
at Georgetown University, in Washington,
D.C., where he lobbied on Capitol
Hill for immigrant rights.
It was there where he discovered
his love for activism.
After graduating in 2011, he spent
the next couple years fi ghting for immigrants
throughout the country.
“It was eye opening to meet the real
people doing the work,” he said.
In 2010, he outed himself as an undocumented
immigrant to build solidarity
and advocate for the immigrant
community in the U.S. He also worked
with the National Immigrant Youth
Alliance to expose cases of medical
neglect and the lack of due process in
Florida.
Eventually, he began communicating
with immigrant youth in Mexico
that would have benefi tted from DACA
(Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals),
but were either self- deported or
deported before an executive action
was passed in 2012.
To further aid the cause, Saavedra
self-deported in 2013 for three days
and returned with a group-seeking
asylum.
“It was my responsibility as a well
known ‘Dreamer,’ to extend my resources
so others could remain in the
USA,” he explained.
According to Saavedra, his activism
has not only helped people throughout
the country, but locally as well.
His restaurant has hosted events
and is a safe place for people when they
need help.
“We’re visible in the community,”
he said. “It’s been terrifi c to have the
restaurant.”
He works at La Morada with his
parents and sisters, Carolina and Yajaira.
However, Saavedra recalled that
his family was initially nervous about
his activism due to the fear of being deported.
Looking back, Saavedra told the
Bronx Times he does not regret selfdeporting
and the juice was defi nitely
worth the squeeze.
“The effort on the front line was
worth it even though it was taxing,”
he said. “It’s a waiting game. We hope
that it ends soon.”
La Morada, in the South Bronx, where the owner is fi ghting for asylum.
Photo Courtesy of Jason Cohen