Mom with asylum finally free
El Salvador woman released from Yuba County Jail months after immigration judge ruled in her favor
A San Bruno mother kept in ICE detention and denied bail for several months, even after winning her asylum case this spring, was freed Wednesday — though her case remains in limbo.
Aida Andrade Amaya left the Yuba County Jail on $3,000 bond. Her lawyer, Jehan Laner Romero of Pangea Legal Services in San Francisco, sued the Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Attorney General William Barr on Oct. 10, arguing her prolonged detention was unjust and illegal.
Days later, immigration authorities told Romero that Andrade Amaya was eligible for bond, her team said.
“This victory was led by Aida from detention,” said Edwin CarmonaCruz, a spokesman for the nonprofit Pangea. “She bravely told her story and we were a platform for her to amplify what was happening.”
Andrade Amaya, 29, briefly thanked her supporters during a news conference Thursday at the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement headquarters in San Francisco.
“Thanks to God I was freed, and to my attorneys, who supported me so much,” she said.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security did not respond to a request for comment Thursday.
ICE said it does not comment on pending litigation.
Andrade Amaya said she fled domestic violence in El Salvador in 2012. She then crossed the border into the United States illegally and petitioned for asylum. Since her arrival, she has worked cleaning houses.
In November, as Andrade Amaya’s asylum case progressed in immigration court, ICE abruptly arrested her. They said Interpol had issued a “red notice” — an international request to locate and detain — for her. Offering no evidence, officials in El Salvador accused Andrade Amaya of aggravated robbery, burglary and participation in MS13, the deadly crossborder gang often invoked by President Trump.
ICE jailed her and kept her there.
Immigration Judge Julie Nelson denied her bail twice during the year. In May, however, while Andrade Amaya was still in jail, Nelson granted her asylum and a work permit.
Andrade Amaya’s lawyer, Romero, said the claims about criminal activity in El Salvador were false and lacked specifics about Andrade Amaya’s alleged involvement in the crimes or when they took place.
Some immigration attorneys have criticized ICE’s use of red notices to target immigrants for detention, arguing the notices are easy to obtain and often contain broad and inaccurate information.
The red notice complicated Andrade Amaya’s case, kept her in jail and led Nelson to deny her bond in February and July.
The judge said Andrade Amaya’s criminal charges in El Salvador made her a danger and flight risk, according to Romero.
But days after Andrade Amaya’s lawyers sued the federal officials last week, ICE told Romero that she was eligible for bond, setting the stage for her release, her team said.
The Bay Area Immigration Bond Fund, which uses community donations to help detained individuals across the state, posted the $3.000 for Andrade Amaya on Wednesday.
ICE continues to press the case against her, however, and Andrade Amaya’s lawyers say they are confident she will win it.
“I think we have a good chance on appeal,” Romero said Thursday. “Her case is so welldocumented it’s ridiculous that they’ve kept fighting it.”
Andrade Amaya’s “mental health and physical health had been really deteriorating in the last few weeks,” her attorney said, noting that she has a 4yearold daughter, Jade, and that she missed her son Mario’s first year of life.
Meanwhile, ICE has appealed Andrade Amaya’s asylum. A decision on that case is pending from the Board of Immigration Appeals.