Immigrant Activist's Detention Highlights Daca Recipients' Growing Deportation Risks

It's been astir a period since migration authorities detained Catalina "Xochitl" Santiago, a 28-year-old migrant authorities activist, organization organizer and beneficiary of nan Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program.

According to her family and attorneys, Santiago has valid DACA status, making her 1 of nan nearly 538,000 undocumented young adults brought to nan U.S. arsenic children who are presently authorized to activity and study. Under nan program, DACA recipients are besides expected to beryllium protected from migration detention and deportation.

Santiago was detained connected Aug. 3. Before boarding a home formation astatine an airdrome successful El Paso, she was approached by 2 men successful Border Patrol uniforms. A video posted by Movimiento Cosecha shows 1 of them telling Santiago they needed to mobility her astir really she obtained her activity authorization.

After that, Santiago was past taken to an migration detention halfway and subjected to deportation proceedings.

“When I heard of her wrongful detention, it collapsed me,” her brother, José Santiago said successful a virtual property telephone Thursday that included family, attorneys and nan support of migrant defense groups calling for her release. “My family couldn’t judge it. We were devastated.”

The management of President Donald Trump has insisted DACA recipients "may beryllium taxable to apprehension and deportation” because “DACA does not confer immoderate shape of ineligible position successful this country,” according to Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin.

Catalina "Xochitl" Santiago astatine a rally.Courtesy Anabel Mendoza

Originally from Mexico, Santiago grew up successful South Florida, wherever she began cultivating her passion for helping others, according to her younger brother, José Santiago.

Santiago moved to El Paso, wherever she has worked pinch nan group Movimiento Cosecha to advocator for undocumented immigrants. She settled location and joined her wife, Desiree Miller, earlier this year.

Miller said she and her woman tally a organization garden, wherever they thatch children and elders astir agriculture and medicinal plants.

Christine Miranda, a friend and workfellow of Santiago astatine Movimiento Cosecha, said they person worked together to shape protests and rallies crossed nan country. They besides successfully advocated for driver's licenses for undocumented immigrants successful New Jersey and Massachusetts, and defended DACA during nan first Trump term.

Santiago "is my champion friend, my biggest supporter, and it is really difficult to cognize that she is suffering," Miller said.

The Department of Homeland Security did not respond to a petition for remark astir why Santiago was detained. But nan national agency told a section TV position successful El Paso that Santiago’s “criminal history includes charges for trespassing, possession of narcotics and supplier paraphernalia.” While Santiago was arrested 5 years agone based connected these allegations, she was ne'er formally charged pinch anything, according to Norma Islas, 1 of Santiago's attorneys.

Islas and Luis Cortes, different lawyer of Santiago, person revenge a mobility to terminate ongoing deportation proceedings against their customer based connected her DACA protections.

According to Cortes, his customer only has “a trespassing condemnation that happened during a serene civilian disobedience action” organized arsenic portion of nan younker mobilization efforts that helped support DACA successful place. “It’s not criminal behavior, it’s a civilian action.”

Cortes added that nan authorities has consistently renewed Santiago’s DACA status, a process that requires “rigorous inheritance checks.”

Cortes branded nan remarks by DHS arsenic an effort to "vilify her successful bid to warrant her detention and her arrest."

Ahead of Santiago's adjacent migration proceeding successful September, organization members successful El Paso and advocates successful a twelve different cities crossed nan federation person hosted astatine slightest 20 rallies and vigils demanding Santiago's release.

"We want Xochitl free," Miller said.

Santiago’s lawsuit is 1 of nan astir caller showing how progressively DACA recipients are being detained amid Trump’s migration crackdown efforts.

A "Free Xochitl" rally successful Philadelphia.Courtesy Anabel Mendoza

This month, Jose Valdovinos, a 27-year-old DACA recipient successful Arizona, was taken into custody by migration officers who said "DACA is nary longer considered ineligible introduction to nan U.S.,” his wife, Jitzell Flores, told KYMA-DT, NBC's connection successful Yuma, Arizona.

NBC News besides reported nan immigration detentions of 4 different DACA recipients past month.

"These are not isolated incidents. They are glaring informing signs," Deya Aldana, nationalist campaigns head astatine United We Dream, nan nation’s largest migrant youth-led network, said Thursday during nan virtual property call. "What we are seeing is simply a blatant and alarming escalation successful nan effort to spot distant and weaken DACA."

Since 2012, erstwhile an executive action by President Barack Obama created nan program, DACA opened occupation and acquisition pathways to hundreds of thousands of young group without ineligible migration status, becoming one of nan astir successful migrant integration policies.

Trump’s efforts to extremity DACA successful his first word and Republican ineligible challenges person unopen retired an estimated 600,000 DACA-eligible teenagers and young adults from nan program, which is presently not unfastened to caller applicants.

A court ruling this twelvemonth wished that each DACA recipients tin proceed to renew their status as long arsenic they meet their requirements.

"DACA is dying by a 1000 insubstantial cuts," Aldana said, "in nan hopes that nan American group aren’t paying attention."