Thread: Immigration activist arrested in Costa Mesa, CA. raid

Immigration activist arrested in Costa Mesa raid

Luis Bravo, 22, who was convicted of a DUI two years ago, has been outspoken about reform.

Luis Bravo, left, and Daniel Bravo attended a Sept. 9, 2013 immigration reform rally. The whole Bravo family are activists in immigration reform and participate in varied activities.
FILE: ANA VENEGAS , STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

BY SEAN EMERY / STAFF WRITER
Published: Sept. 18, 2014 Updated: 5:01 p.m.

An Orange County activist who has been heavily involved in the fight for immigration reform was taken into custody by federal immigration officials on Thursday morning and is facing potential deportation.

The U.S. Immigration and Custom Enforcement’s fugitive operations team arrested Luis Bravo, 22, at his home in Costa Mesa, law enforcement officials and family members said.

ICE officials say Bravo was arrested for a prior driving under the influence conviction, which they say makes him a “potential public safety threat.” ICE spokeswoman Virginia Kice said Bravo was targeted after a tip was provided to the agency’s Fugitive Operations Support Center.

Family members and supporters criticized Bravo’s arrest, saying the 7 a.m. raid at his family’s home left his siblings and parents in tears. Bravo’s supporters say his DUI conviction occurred two years ago, noting that he has since served his time under probation, paid his fines and become an active community member.

“This is beyond devastating news for our family,” Jessica Bravo, Luis’ sister, said in a statement. “My brother means the world to me, and the fact that ICE wants to deport him is not only heartbreaking, it’s infuriating.”

Bravo’s fellow activists quickly organized a social media campaign targeting ICE’s Santa Ana office, with supporters calling them nonstop to request his release. After several hours in custody, Bravo was released about noon Thursday. Activists say they also reached out to Congresswoman Loretta Sanchez (D-Garden Grove), Bishop Kevin Vann and Santa Ana Police Chief Carlos Rojas for help getting Bravo released.

“I felt really happy because I knew I had my whole community helping me and I wasn’t alone,” Bravo said in a phone interview after his release.

Luis Bravo, along with his parents and his two adult siblings, has been an active participant in the local and national drive for immigration reform, with a path to citizenship. While his youngest brother was born in the United States, the rest of the family, who is from Mexico, is undocumented.

Both Luis’s brother, Daniel, and sister, Jessica, have DREAMer status under President Barack Obama’s program that defers deportation for those brought to the country illegally as children.

Bravo said the arrest won’t stop his community efforts.

“This is a reason to push harder and inform more of our community of our rights,” he said.

According to an ICE statement, Bravo has been released on his own recognizance pending “immigration removal proceedings.” His case will ultimately be heard by the immigration court, who will decide whether he can remain in the United States.

http://www.ocregister.com/articles/b...ation-ice.html

ICE starts deportation proceedings against Costa Mesa immigration activist

Immigrants rights activist Luis Bravo, 22, was taken into custody by Immigrations and Customs Enforcement officials early Thursday morning. He was released just hours later after community organizers started a phone bank demanding Bravo be freed. (Harold Pierce, Daily Pilot / September 18, 2014)

By Harold Pierce
September 18, 2014 | 6:15 p.m.

Costa Mesa immigrant-rights activist Luis Bravo was detained by federal immigration agents early Thursday, triggering an outcry from his supporters demanding that he be set free. He was released hours later.

Bravo, a 22-year-old community organizer with the Orange County Congregation Community Organization and Immigrant Youth United, said he awoke to a knock on his door at 6:42 a.m.

Two agents from Immigration and Customs Enforcement took him to ICE's Santa Ana office "to be photographed and processed, and they prepared paperwork to initiate deportation proceedings," said ICE spokeswoman Virginia Kice.

"It will be up to the immigration court to determine whether Mr. Bravo has a legal basis to remain in the U.S.," according to a statement released by ICE.

Bravo was taken into custody based on a lead provided by ICE's Fugitive Operations Support Center, the statement says.

"He was arrested, here unlawfully, and because of a prior conviction for DUI he was targeted," Kice said.

Bravo was convicted of driving under the influence in May 2013. He says he was born in Mexico and is not a U.S. citizen.

Bravo's father, Enrique, a longtime immigrant-rights activist, said the two officers did not identify themselves as ICE agents. Bravo said they didn't ask for him when they went to his door.

"It was sneaky. He came up here asking for someone else," Bravo said.

When Bravo went to the door, he said, agents went through a list of names and mug shots until they identified him. Agents then escorted him to an unmarked car but did not tell him what was happening, he said.

"You'll find out when we get there," Bravo said an agent told him.

Some community members Thursday questioned whether the detainment was a way to intimidate the outspoken family. This is the first time a member of the family had been detained.

Bravo's work has led him on marches across California, along with weeklong fasts, countless phone banks and canvassing efforts and even a stint camping outside a congressman's office to demand immigrant rights.

"Most people come out and talk to agents out of fear," Bravo said. "I spoke to them out of trust." Two days earlier, Bravo led a meeting with Costa Mesa police officers focusing on building trust between law enforcement and the immigrant community.

Before Bravo arrived at the ICE office, his 20-year-old sister, Jessica, had already called organizers at the Orange County Congregation Community Organization.

"We began calling attorneys, blasting out cries on social media, press releases, email blasts," said Minerva Gomez, 30, lead community organizer for OCCCO.

The group collaborated with the National Day Laborers Network and the Pacific Institute for Community Organizations on a national phone bank to demand Bravo's release.

Bravo said the number of calls became so overwhelming that he could hear agents fielding calls in the office. At one point, he said, an agent went to his holding cell and told him to let his friends know that they needed to stop calling.

"I smiled when they told me that," Bravo said. "I knew I wasn't alone."

He was released at about noon.

About 40 activists, friends and others welcomed Bravo home at a news conference amid banners reading "Not one more deportation." Toward the end of the event, two Costa Mesa patrol cars rolled up in response to a noise complaint.

"You guys aren't making much noise," one officer said. "You're exercising your First Amendment rights."

"This is what it is like for the immigrant community every day," said Monica Curca, an OCCCO spokeswoman.

Detainments of this type are not unusual, said Alexandro Nava Teodoro, a deportation defense coordinator for RAIZ, an immigrant youth network. Teodoro said the group has helped two other Orange County families with similar deportation proceedings since the beginning of September.

"It's not uncommon. It's practice," Teodoro said. "ICE in 2012 came to my uncle's house and were supposedly looking for someone else, but it was nobody from our family. We moved away, and three days later, when my uncle came to pick up his stuff, ICE was waiting for him and he got deported."

Last month, ICE started deportation proceedings against Edgar Vargas Arzate of Santa Ana after agents stopped him as he was heading to court to defend himself against charges of attempted burglary, battery on a peace officer and other allegations in a case that gained national attention. Video of his initial arrest in June shows two Santa Ana police officers beating Vargas.

http://www.dailypilot.com/news/tn-dp...,6251238.story

"You guys aren't making much noise," one officer said. "You're exercising your First Amendment rights."

So even the police think illegals have constitutional rights here in America?