Statement on Reported Detention of DACA Recipient

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 14, 2017

CONTACT
Juan Gastelum, [email protected], 213-375-3149

Statement on Reported Detention of DACA Recipient

WASHINGTON — Media reports on Tuesday made public the case of Daniel Ramirez Medina, a recipient of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, who was detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement at his home in Seattle, Wash., last week.

DACA, announced by the Obama administration in 2012, allows immigrant youth who were brought to the U.S. as children to live and work here temporarily if they meet certain requirements and pay a fee. President Donald Trump has not made clear what he intends to do with the program, but there have been no announced changes to DACA to date.

Kamal Essaheb, policy and advocacy director at the National Immigration Law Center, issued the following statement:

“This is part of the chaos created by the Trump administration’s recent actions undoing guidelines intended to provide clarity to field agents. The people ICE calls ‘collateral’ are in fact integral members of our communities.

“People like Daniel came forward, submitted applications, passed background checks, and earned work authorization and a temporary reprieve from deportation. To detain him now isn’t just senseless, it’s cruel. President Trump and his Republican enablers in Congress have created a climate of fear in immigrant communities. Dept. of Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly must take the reins and end the chaos now.”

# # #