Ricardo Paz in a 2020 photo.
By BRIAN DONOHUE
Ricardo Paz at a Mexican Independence Day celebration in Red Bank last year. (Photo by Brian Donohue)
His release came after an immigration court judge set a $20,000 bond, which he was able to post with help from the nonprofit Envision Freedom Fund, his attorney Anne Sedki told redbankgreen in a statement sent via text message.
“In the current immigration climate, bonds are rarely granted, and while we were fortunate that the Court exercised its discretion to allow for his release, the amount set was excessive and created a significant financial barrier to his freedom,” she wrote.
“With the assistance of Envision Freedom Fund, Mr. Paz was able to post bond and reunite with his family,” Sedki said.
Paz’s release came in a week in which the Trump administration made the spectacular admission that ICE officials had violated court orders issued by federal judges in New Jersey more than 50 times over the past ten weeks of its immigration dragnet. Those violations covered a total of more than 500 cases of people arrested or detained by ICE.
Paz’s arrest last month by federal agents near the Wawa on Bridge Avenue – along with numerous other arrests by masked agents – sparked howls of protest from residents and elected officials in a town where he has been a fixture for years.
Paz is known for pulling his landscaping equipment on an American-flag bedecked trailer behind a bicycle and has worked as a maintenance worker at St. Leo the Great parish in Lincroft.
Paz entered the country “without inspection” in 2006 and had applied for legal permanent residency under asylum provisions in US immigration law, Sedki has stated in earlier interviews. 
Paz said he was granted legal permission to live and work in the US while that case wound its way through a process that typically takes years to resolve.
A search of NJ criminal court records show Paz was arrested by Red Bank Police in January 2011 on charges of simple assault in what he and his attorney say was a domestic dispute with a family member.
State municipal court records list the status of the charge as “disposed,” with no fines issued. Records indicate Paz was ordered to have no contact with the victim in the case and paid ten dollars in court fees.
A spokesperson for ICE did not give any information as to why he was targeted for arrest.
In her statement, Sedki decried the detention of her client, who she said had taken proper legal steps toward obtaining legal permanent residency.
“As his immigration attorney, I fought to ensure he was given a meaningful chance at freedom,” she wrote. “Detention should not be the default, and every individual deserves the opportunity to return home to their loved ones while their case proceeds. I am thankful that, despite the challenges, we were able to secure his release and give him that chance.”
Paz’s legal efforts remain ongoing, as does a GoFundMe drive and other community efforts to support him.
Deputy Mayor Kate Triggiano, who has been assisting with the effort to gain Paz’s release, took to Facebook to praise those efforts. His release, she said, was the result of “the work of Ricardo and an entire community of people providing funds, resources, legal, prayers, and services.”
redbankgreen editor Brian Donohue may be reached via email at [email protected] or by calling or texting 848-331-8331.
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