Detained ‘Dreamer’ is released
Daniel Ramirez Medina of Seattle was held for 45 days after federal agents said he was in a street gang.
SEATTLE — Daniel Ramirez Medina, 23, thought to be the first “Dreamer” swept up in the Trump administration crackdown on immigration violators, was released Wednesday after spending six weeks in detention.
“The judge affirmed that Daniel does not pose any risk to public safety,” Luis Cortes, one of Ramirez’s attorneys, said after a federal judge in Seattle on Tuesday ordered his release. “We are thrilled he will soon be home with his family.”
Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers arrested Ramirez on Feb. 5, having come to arrest his father, a repeat immigration violator, at their suburban Seattle apartment. Asked about his status, the Mexicoborn Ramirez said he was in the U.S. under the protection of President Obama’s Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, program.
Known as Dreamers, those who qualify can remain in the U.S. for renewable two-year periods without worry of being deported unless they commit a crime. Obama approved the program as a goodwill gesture to offspring of those in the country illegally who would otherwise lack a homeland. Ramirez was brought to the U.S. by his family at age 7.
But ICE officers questioned him despite his DACA status and claim that Ramirez indicated he was a member of a street gang, which Ramirez denies, and that he bore a gang tattoo, which Ramirez says is nothing more than the name of his hometown, La Paz. He was taken into custody.
A team of pro bono attorneys from Public Counsel challenged the constitutionality of the arrest in U.S. District Court and fought his likely deportation in Immigration Court while Ramirez spent 45 days in a Tacoma, Wash., detention center.
The effort succeeded Tuesday when Immigration Judge John Odell in Tacoma granted Ramirez’s release on $15,000 bond. Ramirez answered questions from prosecutors during a twohour hearing, said another of his attorneys, Mark Rosenbaum.
“He was asked a series of questions by the government attorneys,” Rosenbaum said. “He knocked them out of the park, denying any sort of gang involvement. Shortly after, the judge said he could be released on bond. He’s not going to get those 45 days back. And while I think he’s thrilled to get out, he should have never been there in the first place.”
Cases similar to Ramirez’s have come to light since his arrest. They include a Dreamer in Mississippi who is facing deportation. Daniela Vargas, 22, says she was targeted by ICE after speaking at a news conference about her hopes for immigration reform. “Daniela’s case is representative of the mean-spirited and misguided immigration policy of this administration,” said her attorney, Michelle Lapointe.
Ramirez was released without fanfare Wednesday pending his next Immigration Court hearing and made a brief statement to reporters. “I’d like to thank everyone who’s been supporting me,” he said.
“Like the three-quarters of a million Dreamers in this country, Daniel was brought to the United States as a child and knows no other home,” Rosenbaum said. “This is an important first step toward justice for Daniel.”