An illegal immigrant who was arrested by immigration officials despite being under the protection of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals will be released, an immigration judge in Washington state ruled Tuesday, but deportation proceedings will continue against him.
Daniel Ramirez Medina, 24, was held in immigration detention for a month and a half after U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents arrested him on Feb. 10 in Seattle, saying he admitted to having connections to gangs. Ramirez, the father of a three-year-old U.S. citizen, denied any current connections, and “stated ‘no, not no more,'” when asked about them, a U.S. District Court document states.
The arrest garnered national attention, as pro-immigration groups and pro-immigration cities saw it as one of the first signs of decreased protection under the Trump administration for “Dreamers,” illegal immigrants who came to the U.S. as children.
The court documents went on to say that Ramirez, “responded that he ‘used to hang out with the Surenos in California,’ that he ‘fled California to escape from the gangs,’ and that he ‘still hangs out’ with” gang members in Washington state.”
Lawyer Mark Rosenbaum pushed back, saying the report lied.
“While utterly implausible and wholly fabricated, these claims still would not be sufficient evidence that Mr. Ramirez is a threat to the public safety or national security,” the attorney said in a statement.
“He answered every question the government put to him,” Rosenbaum said. “He stayed true, and the government had no evidence whatsoever.”
“We’re thrilled he’s getting out of a facility he never should have been in in the first place,” he added. “But he’s lost 45 days of his life. He’s been vilified by the government.”
Agents described a tattoo on Ramirez’s arm as a “gang tattoo” in the arrest report. However, his lawyers argued this is a misinterpretation, and the tattoo which says “La Paz BCS” is actually a remembrance of his birth city La Paz.
Ramirez, a “Dreamer” who came to the U.S. at age seven has no criminal record. The ICE agents who arrested him showed up at his house with the intention of arresting his father, a felon deported eight times.
President Trump has urged compassion for child immigrants and said he will “deal with DACA with heart.”
“The DACA situation is a very, very, it’s a very difficult thing for me because, you know, I love these kids,” the president said. “I love kids. I have kids and grandkids.”
