WONG: What we have seen over the past week, though, is aggressive interior immigration enforcement that is raising alarms within the immigrant community such that DACA recipients no longer feel safe. It was when the ICE agents entered the home that they asked Ramirez, “Are you legally here?” And we also hear reports of somebody who is a domestic violence victim being detained by ICE off of a tip from her abuser.
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Ramirez’s case is different: He is authorized to work in the United States under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program ordered by former President Obama.
However, Cortes does not believe the case is part of new enforcement action, particularly around the DACA program.
Under Department of Homeland Security (DHS) policy, aliens granted deferred action from deportation who are subsequently found to pose a threat to national security or public safety may have their deferred action terminated at any time and DHS may seek their removal from the United States.
Mark Rosenbaum, counsel for Ramirez, disputed the ICE’s characterization in a statement: “Mr. Ramirez unequivocally denies being in a gang”.
“That is a baseless claim”, Rosenbaum told KPCC on Wednesday.
“Of those arrested, approximately 75 percent were criminal aliens, convicted of crimes including, but not limited to, homicide, aggravated sexual abuse, sexual assault of a minor, lewd and lascivious acts with a child, indecent liberties with a minor, drug trafficking, battery, assault, DUI and weapons charges”, Kelly continued. “You can check any criminal database”.
In the latter case, ICE has claimed the man had gang affiliations, but has declined to say how it knows that.
Under DACA, the government collected information including participants’ addresses that potentially could be used to locate and deport them if the program is reversed. “Mr. Ramirez did not say these things because they are not true”.
It “confirms what we have all suspected: The Trump administration is indiscriminately targeting undocumented immigrants, including Dreamers, in raids across the country”, Gallego said in a written statement.
How does the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement policy affect so-called Dreamers? “I urge ICE to release Daniel Ramirez Medina – and I urge President Trump and the Republican party to end their shameful, violent treatment of immigrants”. They have filed a lawsuit over what they consider an unconstitutional arrest.
Sonia is anxious, however, because on Wednesday, immigration officials detained a 23-year-old man in Washington state who had been in the country under DACA, and Sonia, who doesn’t really know anyone in Mexico, isn’t sure if she will be next. In exchange, the U.S. government agrees to “defer” any action on their immigration status for a period of two years.
“So the fact that this happened. that puts all of us thinking, ‘So should we even be walking around in the street?'” Perez said. Ramirez’s father was also arrested last Friday.
The immigration debate has been a recurring topic throughout the years, but under the Trump administration its been highly controversial. During the Presidential Election Donald Trump said he wanted to abolish it. For now, Medina’s arrest appears to be isolated, said Kevin Johnson, the dean of the University of California, Davis, School of Law.
“To me, it’s one of the most hard subjects I have, because you have these incredible kids – in many cases, not in all cases”.
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Reuters could not independently confirm whether other DACA recipients have been detained since Trump took office. The Department of Homeland Security said Dreamers are subject to program revocation if they are considered threats to national security or public safety, and such revocations are not rare.
