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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsDreamer Arrested After Speaking To Media Will Be Deported Without Hearing, Attorney Says
Cruel and heartless.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/dreamer-deportation-daniela-vargas_us_58b8920fe4b0d2821b4cc632
03/02/2017
Dreamer Arrested After Speaking To Media Will Be Deported Without Hearing, Attorney Says
ICEs assertion that her detention is routine is absurd and seems anything but, one lawmaker said.
By Elise Foley , Dana Liebelson
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 familys 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 wasnt 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 didnt waive those rights, her parents waived those rights. And now shes 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.
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Read Vargas full comments on her detention below: