Young immigrant woman detained after speaking on deportation fears

A 22-year-old woman who came to the United States from Argentina as a 7-year-old child and was allowed to remain in the country under an Obamaera program was detained by immigration authorities after speaking at a news conference in Mississippi about her fears of being deported, her lawyer said Thursday.

The woman, Daniela Vargas, was picked up Wednesday when the car she was riding in was pulled over by officers shortly after leaving the news conference at City Hall in Jackson, Miss., her lawyer, Abigail Peterson, said. The event was organized to raise awareness about the impact deportation and President Donald Trump’s immigration policies have on families.

An officer placed Vargas in handcuffs after telling her, “You know what we are here for,” Peterson said. Vargas was taken into custody and transferred to a detention center in Louisiana, where she was being held Thursday without bond.

Peterson said the authorities informed her Thursday that Vargas would be processed as a “visa waiver overstay,” which means she would not be given a hearing and would be flown to Argentina.

In 2012, Vargas was allowed to stay in the United States under a program called the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals. The program, started by former President Barack Obama, allows immigrant children who had mostly grown up in the United States to become eligible for work permits and grants permission to stay temporarily.

Peterson said that when Vargas was arrested Wednesday, she had two pending applications to renew her DACA status, which had expired, and her work permit.

Peterson said she believed that the immigration authorities had followed Vargas from the news conference, where she had spoken about how her parents came to the United States when she was a child and gave her a “better life.” She then spoke about her studies and her dream to become a math teacher.