A woman who identified herself as a DREAMer was arrested after speaking at an immigration press conference in Jackson, Mississippi, CBS affiliate WJTV reports.
The arrest came amid a string of immigration raids and a lack of clarity about the scope of the Trump administration’s plans for deportations.
Daniela Vargas was taken into custody on Wednesday, according to attorneys Ramiro Orozco and Abby Peterson and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
At the press conference, members of the metro area’s Latino community spoke about recent U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids and President Trump’s first speech to a joint session of Congress. Abby Peterson, an attorney for Vargas, said that Vargas spoke about her life story.
Daniela Vargas speaks about the recent immigration raid that picked up more than 50 allegedly undocumented immigrants including her father and brother during a news conference Wednesday, March 1, 2017, at the Jackson, Miss., city hall.
CBS affiliate WJTV reports that she discussed recent events involving her family. Her brother and father were arrested on February 15 after ICE agents came to their home, according to the station.
“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 very much feel is my country,” Vargas said, WJTV reported.
Vargas left Wednesday’s event in a friend’s car, Peterson said. They were pulled over minutes later by two ICE vehicles. Approximately four agents approached the vehicle and took Vargas into custody, according to Peterson.
Peterson has not seen nor spoken to her client, but has been told by ICE that Vargas is being held without bond and is being processed as a visa overstay.
ICE, the attorney was told, is aware of Vargas’ pending DACA application.
DACA protects immigrants who were brought to the U.S. illegally by their parents when they were young children. Under the action, they are given temporary legal status that they must renew every two years.
Vargas, 22, came to the U.S. from Argentina when she was seven years old, according to Peterson. She applied for, and was granted, DACA status in 2012. She renewed it in 2014. Her DACA status expired on Nov. 11 last year. She reapplied in February and as of February 10, her application was pending with USCIS, according to Peterson.
Vargas has not been back to Argentina since she arrived in the U.S. 15 years ago. Peterson said Vargas has no criminal record aside from minor traffic violations and driving without insurance. She has no unpaid tickets.
In a statement later on Wednesday, ICE confirmed Vargas’ March 1 arrest, describing her as “an unlawfully present Argentinian citizen.” ICE said that she was taken into custody “during a targeted immigration enforcement action” in Jackson.
ICE said that Vargas “was previously encountered” at her home on February 15. ICE said that at that time, it “exercised discretion to not take her into custody due to her claim that she had DACA.”
“Subsequent to this encounter, ICE verified that Ms. Vargas does not currently have approved DACA status,” ICE said.
A federal immigration judge will now determine Vargas’s custody status and decide whether or not she is eligible for immigration relief, according to ICE.
Some Democrats spoke out about the case.
Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Illinois, said he’s in touch with the Department of Homeland Security for more information.
Another DREAMer, Daniel Ramirez Medina, was arrested by immigration agents last month. A federal magistrate in Seattle declined to release him despite his participation in the federal program to protect those brought to the U.S. illegally.
Josue Romero, who is covered under DACA, was arrested, too, taken into custody on Valentine’s Day a Class B misdemeanor charge of marijuana possession on in San Antonio, CBS affiliate KENS reported. While he was at a county jail, he was handed over to federal immigration officials, the station reported.
From New York to Lost Angeles, activists have spoken out about immigration raids that have take place in recent weeks across the country.
President Trump has offered mixed messages about his policies on immigration issues, advocating a need for immigration enforcement, boasting about deportations of criminals and also expressing sympathy for those covered by DACA.
At a mid-February press conference, he was asked about his plans regarding the DACA program.