Thread: (Illegal) Immigrant detained after press conference

Immigrant detained after press conference

Sarah Fowler , The Clarion-Ledger
Published 1:10 p.m. CT March 1, 2017



Moments after an immigrant spoke out about her fears of deportation, she was detained by Immigrations and Customs Enforcement.

Daniela Vargas, 22, was detained by ICE agents Wednesday morning, shortly after speaking at a news conference in downtown Jackson, according to her attorney, Abby Peterson.

The news conference was hosted by local immigration attorneys, churches and the Mississippi Immigrants Rights Alliance to bring attention to families impacted by deportation.

Vargas' brother and father were detained outside their home by ICE agents in February. Vargas hid in the closet. When she was discovered by agents, she was temporarily handcuffed and then released.

Vargas was 7 years old when her family came to America from Argentina, placing her under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, immigration policy. Under the policy, DACA recipients have to reapply every two years. Vargas' DACA is expired but her renewal application is pending.

Peterson said she told agents via telephone Vargas had a pending DACA case. However, agents reportedly told Peterson that Vargas was a "visa overstay" and will be detained.

Vargas has no bond and is in ICE detention.


Attorney Ramiro Orozco, center, flanked by fellow immigration law attorneys Nathan Elmore, right, and Navketan Desai, third from right, speaks at a news conference Wednesday, March 1, 2017, about efforts to have Latino and Indian community members develop a forum for law enforcement and municipality leaders to help educate and explain the impact anti-immigration bills will have on their communities, in Jackson, Miss. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis) (Photo: Rogelio V. Solis, AP)


Since she came into the country on a visa waiver program, Vargas could be processed without a hearing, Peterson said.

Thomas Byrd, spokesman for ICE, would not immediately comment.

After her father and brother were detained, Vargas previously told The Clarion-Ledger she planned to go into hiding. She came out of hiding to speak at the conference.

Nathan Elmore, an immigration attorney at Elmore & Peterson in Jackson, said there are countless people throughout Mississippi who are scared of being deported. Elmore said the most common question he is asked is how undocumented families can protect their children.

"That's a hard question for me to answer," Elmore said. "As a lawyer, there's certain things we can do, certain emergency measures that can be taken but in the end, no one can replace a parent."

Elmore implored Mississippians to "think about these families, think about these immigrants."

"They're people just like you with the same concerns and the same fears that many of us have," he said. "They have desires to be together as a family unit."

Vargas told the crowd, despite her father and brother likely being deported, she still hoped to live and work in America.

"Today, my father and brother await deportation while I continue to fight this battle as a DREAMer to help contribute to this country, which I feel is very much my country," she said.

DREAM refers to the Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors Act', a main provision of which is to provide permanent resident status to young undocumented immigrants.

As a friend drove Vargas away from the news conference, their vehicle was pulled over by ICE agents, Peterson said.

Agents reportedly told Vargas, "You know who we are, you know what we're here for."

Vargas was immediately detained and taken into custody. Her friend was released.

Before being detained Wednesday, Vargas said she planned to move out of state with her mother and pursue her dream of being a university math professor.

"Now, I'm not so sure my dream will continue to develop," she said. "A path for citizenship is necessary for DACA recipients but also for the other 11 million undocumented people with dreams."

http://www.clarionledger.com/story/n...ence/98589720/

You'll need to pursue your dreams with your family in Argentina. Argentina's a nice country.

They are still under the impression that Obama is still in office and they can shoot off their big mouths with no repercussions. Well times have changed and you can and will be deported.

This is really a smart move on the part of ICE. Get rid of all the illegal talking heads out there trying to gain empathy for their cause and the feds job gets easier.

Dreamer Arrested After Speaking To Media Will Be Deported Without Hearing, Attorney Says 7 / 16

Elise Foley
12 hrs ago

WASHINGTON ― A 22-year-old undocumented immigrant arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Jackson, Mississippi, on Wednesday after speaking to the media about her family’s detention is set to be deported without a court hearing, her attorney said on Thursday.

Daniela Vargas, who came to the U.S. from Argentina when she was 7 years old, previously had a work permit and deportation reprieve under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, or DACA. Her DACA status expired last November, and because she was saving money for the renewal — which costs $495 — her new application wasn’t received until Feb. 10.

On Wednesday, a spokesman for ICE said Vargas would go through court proceedings to determine whether she is eligible for some type of relief, adding that the agency would take no further action until those proceedings were completed.

But Abby Peterson, Vargas’ attorney, said ICE agents told her on Thursday that they would instead pursue immediate deportation without a court hearing or bond because Vargas entered the country through the visa waiver program, which allows certain foreign nationals to enter the U.S. for under 90 days without a visa. (Argentina was previously part of the program, although it no longer is.) Individuals who use the visa waiver program have no right to a hearing or to contest their removal unless they are seeking asylum.

Peterson argued that the facts of Vargas’ case should be considered, including that she received DACA relief and had reapplied to the program.

“She was 7 years old at the time [she came to the U.S.],” Peterson said. “She didn’t waive those rights, her parents waived those rights. And now she’s an adult trying to assert her own rights.”

An ICE spokesman said the agency has no additional comment on Vargas’ case and directed The Huffington Post to the statement it made on Wednesday.

Vargas’ father and brother were detained on their way to work on Feb. 15. After her father was apprehended in the driveway, Vargas hid in the house for hours until ICE agents came in with a warrant, wielding guns. Agents questioned Vargas about her DACA status — an ICE official claimed she said she had it — but let her go.

When HuffPost emailed with her on Tuesday, Vargas — who was planning to go back to school to study to be a math professor — said she was moving around because she was “afraid to stay in one spot and be taken back to Argentina.”

Vargas talked to news outlets about ICE picking up her brother and father, and on Wednesday, she appeared at a press conference about immigrants’ contributions to the community. She was pulled over and arrested by ICE after leaving the press conference that day.

Vargas’ plight has drawn the attention of numerous immigration advocates, inspiring several social media hashtags — including #FreeDaniela. United We Dream, an immigrant rights group, also started a petition asking DHS Secretary John Kelly to grant her protection from deportation, which had received more than 11,000 signatures by Thursday.

Several lawmakers have raised questions about Vargas’ detention. “ICE’s assertion that her detention is ‘routine’ is absurd and seems anything but,” Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.), ranking member of the House Committee on Homeland Security, said in a statement on Thursday. “Those like Ms. Vargas just want a better life for themselves and their families.”

Vargas is currently being held at an ICE detention facility in Louisiana. She asked Peterson to share her message that she wants a chance to contribute to the U.S.

“I strongly feel that I belong here and I strongly feel that I should be given a chance to be here and do something good and work in this economy,” Vargas said, according to Peterson, who recorded their conversation.

“I’ve even tried to join the military, and I can’t do that. But, I mean that’s not the point, the whole point is that I would do anything for this country.”

Read Vargas’ full comments on her detention below:

I don’t understand why they don’t want me. I’m doing the best I can. I mean I can’t help that I was brought here but I don’t know anything else besides being here and I didn’t realize that until I was in a holding cell last night for 5 hours. I was brought here. I didn’t choose to be here. And when I was brought here, I had to learn a whole new country and leave behind the one that I did know. And I barely knew that one. I feel, I strongly feel that I belong here and I strongly feel that I should be given a chance to be here and do something good and work in this economy. There’s so much that I can bring to the table, so much, like I can even teach music, I’m an excellent trumpet player you can ask my mom about any of that. I’m great with math, I speak Spanish. You know, there’s a lot of stuff that I can do for this country that they’re not allowing me to do. I’ve even tried to join the military, and I can’t do that. But, I mean that’s not the point, the whole point is that I would do anything for this country.

http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/dre...lgr?li=AAn4eAA

Beezer, I posted your article for you! Thank you so much for finding it! That's great news the family will be deported without a hearing.

Actually, I don't know where to start with this.

How did we get to the point we allow crimes to somehow be re-worded to make them something wonderful.

This young person's parents broke the law, she knew she and her parents were in violation of the law.

Where do these people get off thinking we owe them something - rather than the other way around?

I don't believe I have ever heard one of these law breakers tell the American people thank you.

They are going to college - are they explaining who is paying for that? Do they ever say how grateful they are?

If they have done so well, and are doing so well, someone should tell them to thank the Americans - rather than demand somehow we owe them more!!!!

It seems as if they think we should be grateful to them for using the resources of this country that rightfully belong to our children and grandchildren - and future generations?

These so called 'dreamers' are the most dangerous. They are using their education to get into politics, medicine, teaching, law, etc., etc.

Send them home first.

We need to tell them they should go home gratefully. They will be healthier, wealthier and wiser for their sojourn in our country.

Now- go and go with some grace and dignity.

nntrixie wrote (excerpt):

These so called 'dreamers' are the most dangerous. They are using their education to get into politics, medicine, teaching, law, etc., etc.

And more importantly, they become lifelong advocates for illegal immigrant amnesty and increased legal immigration.

“I strongly feel that I belong here and I strongly feel that I should be given a chance to be here and do something good and work in this economy,” Vargas said, according to Peterson, who recorded their conversation.

“I’ve even tried to join the military, and I can’t do that. But, I mean that’s not the point, the whole point is that I would do anything for this country.”


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I STRONGLY feel that YOU do not belong here and be given NO chance to stay...go work on your countries economy!

As a Veteran...I STRONGLY reject that any illegal aliens are admitted into our Military. Go back and join your own in your Country and serve.