Ratha San Sr is the co-owner of City Watch Coffee, a beloved small business with locations in Lebanon and Cleona, Pennsylvania. He is a husband, a father of four, and a fixture in our community. Right now, he is being held in a detention center, facing deportation to Cambodia, a country he has never once set foot in.

Ratha did not enter this country illegally. His family came to the United States legally through family sponsorship when he was about one year old. He was born in a refugee camp in Thailand after his family fled war. He has no memory of Cambodia and no ties there.

In his early twenties, Ratha made mistakes that led to his immigration status being revoked and a deportation order being issued. He has spent every year since then trying to make it right:

• He has attended every required immigration check-in for over two decades to remain in compliance.
• Cambodia was not accepting deportees at the time his order was issued, which is why he has remained here, in good faith, all this time.
• He attempted multiple times to obtain a work permit and apply for legal status, but the legal fees and attorney costs required to fight his case made it financially out of reach.
• He and his family reached out to their federal representative on multiple occasions, including just a few months ago, asking for help. They did not receive it.

In the two decades since, Ratha built a life here. He and his wife built City Watch Coffee from nothing: a business that now serves this community every day and has become part of daily life in Lebanon and Cleona. He has raised a family, paid taxes, employed local workers, and given back to this community.

Now his wife is being forced to close their locations, sell the business they built together, and prepare to uproot their newborn and three-year-old to a country their family has no connection to, while Ratha sits detained. His last known location was at the Moshannon Valley detention center, although the family believes he may have recently been relocated elsewhere. His wife and children are all US citizens. 

We are asking the ICE Philadelphia Field Office, Congressman Dan Meuser, Senator McCormick, and Senator Fetterman to exercise discretion, grant a stay of removal, and give Ratha the chance to pursue the legal status he has spent 20 years trying to earn the right way. The immigration system is not perfect and has failed many; now is the time to begin making it right.

Please sign this petition to show our elected officials that this community stands behind Ratha, his family, and the business they built here.