Vic Ruiz

Disclaimer: While place descriptions and news events may coincide with the real world, all characters and the plot are fictional. 
== Biography ==
Victor (Vic) Ruiz is an junior partner with Immigration Law Ltd, a specialist immigration legal practice in Portland. His uncle is the senior partner, and there are six attorneys in the Portland office of the firm including his father. The office manager is his cousin. They have offices throughout the Pacific Northwest including in Yakima. The firm also have a joint agreement with a firm in San Francisco.
The Valdez family hired the firm to represent the senior Mr Valdez, then his son, then Teresa Valdez, the granddaughter. Vic represents clients who have to appear before ICE judges, freeing up the older attorneys in the firm to represent the more difficult cases.
His office is in a brick building east of the Park Blocks, near the Portland Art Museum, and close to the Mexican Embassy.
=== Book 3: Don't Go ===
Ryan goes to meet Vic Ruiz at Immigration Law Ltd at 2pm on Monday, October 26, 2020. Vic asks if Rafael is safe, and Ryan says Rafael is his son (and so a US citizen), why are ICE expending this much energy and money on him? They talk about the coming presidential election and its effect on immigration, but Ruiz says there's something weird about the Valdez case. Ryan tells Vic what he knows about Ian Black, and his grievance against Teresa and Ryan. Vic has his uncle join them and summarizes Ryan's information about Black. Mr Ruiz tells Ryan there have been rumors of investigators funded by various federal agencies who are in Mexico doing 'genealogical work'. One of their connections in Mexico had mentioned a Professor Black. Ryan asks for permission to share the information with the PSU Provost, as he's concerned Black is pushing ICE to pursue Teresa aggressively. Ryan calls McShane, who agrees to come to talk to the attorneys in person. While waiting for McShane, Ryan calls Joel Parkinson to check how much the Matthews Trust has available in liquid funds. Mr Ruiz tells Ryan they have a joint agreement with a firm in San Francisco, and they can have all the paperwork ready when he and Teresa arrive there. They will need to spend a week in San Francisco, and then six months or so in Mexico to establish residency while Teresa's citizenship application is processed as Ryan's wife.
On the way from Vic's office to the conference room at 3pm, Vic Ruiz agrees that Ryan is being billed for everything at their top rates, now that they know he's not a broke college student. Ryan says he'd prefer the Provost not to know about his family connections. McShane is already waiting in the room when they arrive, and Ryan briefs him on what he's learned. McShane produces the toxicology lab reports from Dr Clarke in 2017, and they conclude that while someone did indeed attempt to kill Ryan, his testimony would not hold up in court. Ryan's migraine increases, and he takes medication. Emily calls, saying she'd had a weird call from Professor Ian Black, and thought Ryan should know. Ryan places the call on speaker for his attorneys and McShane to listen in. Emily says Black wanted to know if Ryan had assigned the 'feature piece' he'd discussed with Ryan. Emily told him Ryan had not talked to her about a feature, but she finds a press release about Black's new book, and says she will assign a reporter to interview him about it. She said Black got hostile, saying Ryan should know better than to play games with him. Ryan asks Emily for the title of the book, and she says 'Fertility Symbols in Pre-Colonial Mexico'. Ryan asks her to send someone to University Relations for a review copy, and then to go to Ryan's computer, search for 'fertility', and email him the file as an attachment. Emily says she'll send J.J. for the book, then he can take it home to Ryan that night. Ryan says if he calls again, to refer Black to him. McShane asks if Black's book plagiarizes an undergraduate thesis. Ryan prints the email attachment, and gives it to McShane. Vic Ruiz asks if Black's book is similar to Ryan's paper, and McShane agrees it is, and tells Ryan to make a formal complaint. Ryan tells his attorneys to get things started, he wants to go after Teresa as soon as they think he can, and they say it will take a couple of days to set things up. The receptionist comes in and tells them that ICE agents have arrived, asking to speak to the senior partner about a possible breach of ethics. Mr Ruiz tells her to take the agents into his office, and Vic to escort McShane and Ryan out the back way. Vic leads them down to the end of a back alley. McShane leaves, and Vic tells Ryan he'll call when they're ready to set up the rendezvous.
The following morning, Teresa phones Vic Ruiz and updates him on the camp leader's concern. Vic tells her Ryan has been to see him, and that Rafael is in good hands with Ryan, with both being taken in by Rev Washington. He tells her what they know about Ian Black, and that Ryan wants to come after her with Rafael, and wants her to be sure that's what she wants. Teresa says she doesn't need a hero to rescue her, and Vic says perhaps Ryan needs her to rescue him? Teresa suggests they can rescue each other, and it's time for them to work out their differences and see if they can commit to each other for a lifetime. After discussing alternatives, they agree for Teresa to return to Nampa to await Ryan, who will drive with Rafael from Portland to meet her.
After missing a couple of calls from Vic Ruiz earlier in the day, Ryan calls him back around 3pm to hear there are concerns about ICE sniffing around where Teresa is in Idaho. Vic asks if Ryan can leave the following morning to get her. He'll call Ryan back with further information after talking to the senior partner and their San Francisco liaison.
About noon on Wednesday, Vic calls Ryan Matthews to say that the migrant family that Teresa was with pulled into Twin Falls ID that morning, and ICE was waiting for them. They, and all the other farm employees there, have been detained. Vic hasn't heard from Teresa, and it's possible she went to Twin Falls with them. Ryan says he's going to continue on to Nampa ID where they had planned to meet. Vic says she was supposed to meet Ryan at a Mexican taqueria in Nampa at 2pm and wait there until 5pm. If Ryan hadn't yet arrived, she was to meet him at Denny's at 7pm. Ryan says he'll be there before 5pm, and if she's not there he'll go on to Twin Falls. He directs Vic to get the best attorney possible for the migrant family in Twin Falls, and Vic says it's already been done. Ryan asks if Vic has seen the story on the EWN site, and Vic calls it up to read it. Ryan says the Provost killed Black, just as the story says, but that Black's gun was pointed at Ryan not McShane. So Ryan's a little shaky, and it would be really good to find Teresa. Rafael becomes anxious and asks where his Mama is. Vic tells him to call when he gets to Nampa, and Ryan reassures Rafael they are going to get his Mama.
Teresa calls Vic Ruiz collect from a public phone about 2pm(OR). Vic tells her there was a raid in Twin Falls, and they weren't sure if she had gone there. Vic assures her the migrant family is being taken care of, and that he needs to call Ryan to let him know she's safe. Teresa says she will stay in the restaurant until Ryan arrives.
Vic Ruiz calls Ryan about 6pm(OR) to say there is a change of plans, as even for an internal flight, all parties would need to show identification and Teresa is still on ICE's watch list. So they will have to drive to San Francisco rather than fly. Vic discusses the route with them, and they head for Burns OR.
On Thursday morning, Ryan Matthews calls Vic and tells him about the motel clerk in Burns talking on the phone while watching them. Vic says he'll investigate and call them back.
Vic Ruiz calls Ryan back about noon to say that ICE has a BOLO for their license plates, in connection with the death of Ian Black, an ICE consultant. Teresa had not known Black was dead, and asks why ICE would be looking for Ryan. He tells her Black was threatening him with a gun on Tuesday night, fired and missed, and so McShane had shot and killed Black. McShane has a concealed-carry permit, and sent Ryan off with Cage. Black had tried to kill Ryan earlier on Tuesday afternoon by running him off the road, so he didn't ask and got out of there before the cops showed up. Black had said he could make a call to ICE and it would go badly for Teresa, Rafael and himself, so perhaps he'd already made that call. Ryan tells Vic that if ICE are looking for their car, then he needs a new car. Vic says he knows an attorney near Eugene and will call back. Ryan says they'll stop at a Starbucks, and wait to hear back from him.
Vic texts Ryan about 1:30pm to say that his friend Jonathan Tremont will call.
== Physical Appearance ==
Vic Ruiz is not much over 24-years-old. He is several inches shorter than Ryan, but moves as though he works out, possibly even has some kind of boxing experience. He shows physical confidence. He wears wire-rim glasses. 
Ryan guesses that Vic is third-generation Latino. He has no discernible accent. His grandparents believed in assimilation, and neither Vic nor his parents learned Spanish at home. Vic had to learn Spanish in college. He is attracted to Teresa, but recognizes that Teresa loves Ryan.