Several area organizations came together at Missouri State University Wednesday to march and call for leadership to stand up to the detainment of immigrants.
Paul Essel, grants accounting manager at Missouri State, has been at the Greene County Jail on a hold for Immigrations and Custom Enforcement since October 7.
The march and rally were an opportunity for groups like the NAACP, Southern Missouri Immigration Alliance and others to call for his release and for leadership to stand up.
Dominique Moore is the founder of SMIA. She said, just because there aren't large raids in the Springfield area like the ones in Minneapolis, people are still being detained.
"Unfortunately, because it's a figure that doesn't really fit the mold of the national narrative, that it can really show the community that it's been long enough where we've dealt with this. Twenty months is long enough for the immigration crackdown that has been happening," she said. "And it's time for us to do exactly what we've been chanting for the last 20 months and stand up and fight back."
Essel is Moore's neighbor, and she wants people to know the kind of person he is.
"Neighbors are not as connected as they used to be," she said, "but he made it a point to come introduce himself to my family while we were playing Frisbee in the front yard. That is the person that Paul is."
Essel and his wife Pearl have three children, and their teenage nieces live with them. Pearl came to the rally to talk about her husband and what it's been like since he was arrested.
"Those who know my husband know him. He's not a criminal. He's worked hard. He loves this country. He's loved this country since he's been here," she said. "And for the system to treat him this way, it's very hard. But even in all this, we still have faith."
She said the community has been very supportive since her husband's arrest and she's grateful and ready for whatever happens.
Essel is originally from Ghana and attended graduate school at Missouri State. Federal records show Essel came to the US as a student. He later attempted to gain citizenship through marriage, but that petition was denied in 2012. A separate marriage petition was approved in 2018, but federal records indicate the state argued that following that ruling Essel failed to take the appropriate steps to adjust his legal status until it was too late.
Missouri State University spokesperson Mark Danes said the university has "done everything we can to cooperate with his attorneys." He said they've helped connect Essel's family with community resources. He said, because Essel is still in the federal system, the university does not have an update on his situation.
Chris Drew contributed to this report.
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