Deportation order for Highland Park dad thrown out by Board of Immigration Appeals

LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- A Highland Park father is allowed to stay in the United States after he was set to be deported Monday.

On Thursday afternoon, the Board of Immigration Appeals vacated the deportation order for Romulo Avelica.

"His case has been returned to an immigration judge to consider whether or not Avelica is eligible for the relief he previously sought," a statement from the National Day Laborer Organizing Network read.

A case can be returned for people like Avelica, who have lived in the U.S. for an extended period of time and have U.S. citizen family members who would suffer severe hardship in the case of a deportation, the statement added.

Avelica's story made national headlines when he was picked up by ICE agents in February while dropping his daughters off at school in Highland Park.

While being dropped off at school with her sisters, 13-year-old Fatima Avelica recorded her undocumented father being picked up by agents with the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

The deportation order arose from misdemeanor charges dating back 20 years. The 49-year-old has been in the U.S. for nearly three decades.

On Monday, he was granted an emergency stay of removal while his case got a second look.

Avelica has a bond hearing on Aug. 30 and could be released that day.