Continuous Vigilance Needed After ICE Agent Erroneously Claimed “When Trump came in, DACA doesn’t exist anymore”
A recording of today’s press call is available here; Facebook livestream of family reunification expected later today
While deported Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipient Juan Manuel Montes’case sits before a federal judge, another DACA beneficiary from northwest Kentucky has been facing imminent deportation. This morning, news broke that she may soon be released.
Riccy Enriquez Perdomo, a DACA-recipient and Kentucky mother of two U.S. citizen children, was arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents last week when she went to pay a bond for a friend and fellow church-goer. Read more about Riccy’s case in this article from the Cincinnati Enquirer.
Riccy had been shuffled around to a least five different detention facilities and scheduled for deportation to Honduras next week. Her case has been widely covered in local and national media. Senator Richard Durbin weighed in, and Riccy’s lawyers filed a writ of habeas corpus yesterday.
Today during a conference call with reporters, one of Riccy’s lawyers, Don Sherman, received confirmation that ICE intends to release her today from the Boone County Jail around 5pm. The news had initially been reported yesterday by Univision, but the family did not receive confirmation until today.
Robert Cote, Riccy’s brother-in-law and a United States war veteran, said:
I am shaken with excitement by the rumors that Riccy may be released tonight, but we cannot lose sight of the larger point. This is still happening to DACA-recipients. ICE told me first hand that DACA is no longer in effect, since the Trump administration came to office. With or without Riccy’s detention, they are not abiding by the protections guaranteed by DACA and are unlawfully detaining DACA-recipients. We must continue to fight to protect other DACA-recipients.
Don Sherman, Cincinnati-based immigrant advocate and friend of the family, said:
For the past two weeks, ICE has unlawfully detained Riccy – an individual with DACA, without a criminal record, who has two children and who has been contributing to society. They even went so far as to contact the consulate and book her a flight back to Honduras for next week. They were trying to expedite her removal before the media caught wind of it. Now, after the story has been widely reported, we’ve just heard that she may be released tonightat 5pm. We’ll be waiting and ready to welcome her home.
Josh Stehlik, Supervising Attorney, National Immigration Law Center, said:
Riccy Enriquez Perdomo’s case is yet another example of ICE acting in a way that clearly violates the promise that the federal government made to DACA recipients. With each of these cases – in which ICE simply ignores the existence of the protection from deportation that DACA provides – the Trump administration continues to erode a program which has been a resounding success by all measures. We need President Trump to say once and for all that DACA is safe – and to order everyone in his administration, including ICE, to honor and defend it.
Riccy’s family and friends are preparing to greet her at the jail this evening. For more information and a livestream video during the reunification, check theFacebook page of IJPC YES – Youth Educating Society. On Twitter, follow the hashtags #FreeRiccy and #HereToStay.
A recording of today’s call is available here.
