In New York City, demonstrators gathered outside a Manhattan federal building Thursday to protest recent ICE raids, including last Friday’s arrest of Daniel Ramirez Medina in Washington state. Ramirez has permission to live and work in the United States under President Obama’s program DACA, or Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals. His arrest alarmed immigrant communities who fear the Trump administration could soon target other DACA recipients. This is Yatziri Tovar, an immigrant who was brought to the U.S. as a child.
Yatziri Tovar: “We’re here because we demand the release of Daniel. He is a DACA recipient. He was arrested, and he is now being detained. And they’re saying that they’re going to deport him. You know, when DACA came around, that was one of the promises that was made to us. And he has no criminal record, and there’s no reason why he should be detained.”
A hearing in Daniel Ramirez’s case is scheduled for today. On Thursday, the Justice Department claimed in a legal brief that Ramirez was arrested because agents suspected he might be part of a gang. Meanwhile, lawyers for Ramirez said Thursday that immigration officials doctored a document to make it seem as though Ramirez admitted he belonged to a criminal gang. A photograph of Ramirez’s original statement read, “I came in and the officers said I have gang affiliation with gangs so I wear an orange uniform.” Lawyers say the document was altered to read, “I have gang affiliation with gangs so I wear an orange uniform.” We’ll have more on the case of Daniel Ramirez Medina and Thursday’s “Day Without Immigrants” after headlines.