‘Dreamer’ is detained after speaking at rally
the AP. A federal immigration judge will decide whether she is eligible for immigration relief.
In a statement, an ICE spokesman confirmed that immigration officials took Vargas, “an unlawfully present Argentinian citizen,” into custody Wednesday “during a targeted immigration enforcement action” after the agency verified that her DACA status had lapsed.
The hashtag #freedany began to spread on social media Wednesday, and an immigrant rights group, United We Dream, encouraged immigrant youth to sign a petition to Department of Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly demanding Vargas’ release. The group called out President Donald Trump and House Speaker Paul Ryan, who have previously expressed sympathy to DACA immigrants.
Trump called DACA an “unconstitutional executive amnesty” in August, but his words on the topic have been more ambiguous since taking office. At a recent news conference, Trump called the program “one of the most difficult subjects I have” and pledged to “show great heart” toward those enrolled in DACA.
Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., tweeted that he had been in touch with the Department of Homeland Security to obtain more information about the case. “Disturbing that ICE may have followed her from an immigration news conference,” he said in the tweet.
Her friend, Sanders, told Univision, that if she knew this could happen, she would have never let her go to the news conference.
Being pulled over by ICE agents, Sanders said, was “chilling.”
“It was like they knew who we were and they were looking for us,” she said.