La reciente tecnología para el reconocimiento facial les permite a los agentes de seguridad del aeropuerto de Washington atrapar a un pasajero que trata de escabullirse en Estados Unidos utilizando el pasaporte de otra persona.
La tecnología, que utiliza un nuevo sistema biométrico que compara el rostro del viajero con la foto que muestra su pasaporte había sido instalada en el aeropuerto apenas tres días antes de que atrapara a un impostor.
“La nueva tecnología para el reconocimiento facial virtualmente elimina la capacidad de alguien para utilizar un documento auténtico que fue emitido a otra persona”, dijo Casey Durst, directora de la oficina en Baltimore del Servicio de Aduanas y Protección Fronteriza de Estados Unidos.
La identificación biométrica es una expresión que suena futurista por el concepto de identificar a alguien basado en un único rasgo biológico, como el DNA, la voz o características de la voz, la identificación biométrica ha existido desde la década de 1880, cuando por primera vez se emitieron las huellas digitales para confirmar una identidad en los tribunales. Los nuevos y diferentes tipos de métodos para la identificación biométrica son importantes herramientas que utilizan en la actualidad los organismos encargados de aplicar la ley.
El sistema para la comparación facial es importante porque el emparejar el rostro de una persona con la fotografía de identificación puede ser más complicado de lo que parece. Cuando una persona pierde peso, se corta el cabello o comienza a usar anteojos, puede hacer más difícil para los agentes estar seguros de que esa persona sea la que esté presentando su propia identificación.
Ahora, usando la nueva tecnología para el reconocimiento facial biométrico los agentes fronterizos pueden dejar de adivinar cuándo deben dejar pasar a la persona que presenta su propia identificación y cuándo frenar los fraudes de identidad e impostores.
La nueva tecnología para el reconocimiento facial es parte de un programa puesto en marcha en 14 aeropuertos de Estados Unidos.
Tuit:CBP @CBP
#CBP Agentes en el Aeropuerto Internacional de Washington en Dulles detectaron al primer impostor que trataba de ingresar a Estados Unidos al utilizar la nueva tecnología de reconocimiento facial. Una búsqueda posterior de la operación en el terreno (#FieldOperations) reveló que el hombre había ocultado en su zapato su verdadera tarjeta de identidad. 24 de agosto de 2018
El Pasaporte será requisito indispensable para el ingreso de ciudadanos venezolanos al Perú, el Ministerio del Interior adopta esta medida para la identificación segura de ciudadanos extranjeros que ingresan al país.
Con el fin de brindar las condiciones que garanticen el ingreso ordenado y seguro de los ciudadanos venezolanos al Perú, el Ministerio del Interior ha dispuesto el requisito de presentación de pasaporte para su ingreso al territorio nacional a partir de las cero horas del sábado 25 de agosto de 2018.
El ministro del Interior, Mauro Medina Guimaraes, manifestó que en concordancia a la política tradicional de acogida humanitaria de ciudadanos extranjeros en el país, especialmente de nuestros hermanos venezolanos, se adopta la medida para identificarlos plenamente en beneficio de ellos mismos y de la seguridad interna.
“Nuestra política migratoria de apertura está en sintonía con nuestra inserción internacional y se condice con el total respeto a los derechos humanos. Asimismo, debe estar articulada con un enfoque de seguridad que garantice una inmigración ordenada, informada y segura”, expresó.
Según estadísticas de Migraciones, “solo un 20% de los ciudadanos venezolanos que ingresan al país, en promedio de tres mil al día, lo hacen con su cédula de identidad, pero en algunos casos no reúnen todas las condiciones para asegurar que sean válidas o verdaderas”.
El titular del Interior informó que su Sector se encuentra en coordinación con el Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores para comunicar a las autoridades migratorias colombianas y ecuatorianas, países de tránsito con destino al Perú, la próxima entrada en vigor de la exigencia de pasaporte para su ingreso a nuestro país.
Reiteró que el Perú es un país solidario y de acogida, y que la presente medida se inscribe plenamente en los principios que enmarcan una migración responsable. (NP 1229–2018).
A su vez el gobierno Nacional activó el corredor humanitario que permite el traslado gratuito, seguro y ordenado de ciudadanos venezolanos que se encuentran en la frontera norte de Ecuador, hacia Huaquillas (provincia de El Oro), límite fronterizo con Perú. La medida durará cinco días.
Un contingente de 36 autobuses se puso a disposición de los migrantes para cubrir las rutas Tulcán (provincia del Carchi)-Huaquillas y San Miguel (provincia de Sucumbíos)-Huaquillas. De estos, 22 unidades con capacidad de 40 pasajeros partieron entre la noche del jueves 23 de agosto y la mañana de este viernes, con la colaboración de varios ministerios y secretarías de Estado, y el acompañamiento de Fuerzas Armadas, Policía Nacional y Comisión de Tránsito del Ecuador. Las 14 unidades restantes están a la espera para trasladar a ciudadanos venezolanos que podrían llegar a nuestra frontera.
Los buses de las cooperativas viajan en caravana, con resguardo policial y portan un salvoconducto que facilita su libre tránsito. Según cifras de la Secretaría de Gestión de Riesgos, más de 880 personas fueron movilizadas hacia la frontera sur.
El Gobierno Nacional declaró en estado de emergencia al sector de movilidad humana en las provincias de Carchi, Pichincha y El Oro, con la finalidad de ayudar a los flujos migratorios inusuales de ciudadanos venezolanos que arribaron por la frontera norte. Las acciones se sustentan en la protección de derechos para las personas, independientemente de su condición migratoria.
The average wait time on a U.S. citizenship application was about five months in 2014. Today, the average time a green card holder will wait for theircitizenship applicationto be processed by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is 10 months.
With the increased wait time, the backlog of pending applications has also grown considerably. In September of 2013, a little over 300,000 citizenship applications were pending. Now more than 750,000 applications are awaiting processing.
This means that permanent residents are waiting longer than in years passed. For those who live in areas where many permanent residents are applying, the wait time can reach up to 17 months.
There are likely a few reasons why the agency’s wait time and backlog has risen so significantly.
Changes under both the Obama and Trump administration have created an application process that is lengthy, expensive, and in many ways difficult for non-native English speakers.
This began underPresident Obama, when in 2014 he instructed USCIS to make significant changes to the application form. It shot up from a 10-page document to 21 pages.
Much of this increased length was due to new questions regarding applicants’ links to terrorist groups, genocide, and military training, among other topics. These questions were added despite the fact very few naturalized citizens come from countries with terrorist ties. The new test also included more difficult questions on U.S. history and civics.
These types of questions in the new form, along with its use of more technical terms, left advocates afraid non-English speakers may be discouraged from applying for citizenship.
The average wait time and backlog have also increased under President Trump.
According to a report from the National Partnership for New Americans, there has been a 35 percentincrease in the backlogfrom July 2017 to July 2018. There has been a 77 percent increase since July 2016.
The report also found that USCIS has decreased its processing rate and increased the number of denials under the current administration, and that it has done so in a way that is “arbitrary and lacks geographic uniformity.” For example, the processing rate for some states is much longer than others. In Florida, the time a person waits for an application has decreased by 5 percent. Over the same time frame, Alabama’s backlog increased by 213 percent.
In fact, instead of addressing the growing backlog, USCIS is actually spending resources looking through thousands of old citizenship applications for any potential signs of fraud. If it finds fraud in an application, the agency plans torescind citizenship.
It’s obvious from these lengthy wait times that the agency needs to focus on the backlog instead of old applications. USCIS should want to welcome more U.S. citizens, not less.
Compartimos el documental del canal de YouTube documentalesenyoutube en donde un periodista e investigador viaja por una de las fronteras más polémicas del último tiempo y descubre pasando por los diferentes pueblos y ciudades fronterizas la construcción de un muro que amenaza con aislar a las personas y hábitat en general.
Este documental entrevista a autoridades, trabajadores y gente que trabaja y vive en los diferentes asentamientos fronterizos y como está afectando sus vidas, así como ellos intentan superar su modo de vivir frente a este muro que cubrirá toda la frontera entre Estados Unidos y México.
Normalmente, un residente permanente legal (LPR, por sus siglas en inglés) puede viajar libremente fuera de los Estados Unidos y retornar. Sin embargo, existen algunas limitaciones. Un permiso de reingreso puede ayudar a prevenir dos tipos de problemas:
1. Su Tarjeta de Residente Permanente se vuelve técnicamente inválida para reingreso a los Estados Unidos si usted se ausenta de los Estados Unidos por un año o más.
2. Su residencia permanente en los Estados Unidos es considerada como abandonada por ausencias de menos de un año si usted toma residencia en otro país.
El permiso de reingreso establece que usted no tiene intenciones de abandonar su estatus, y le permitirá solicitar la admisión a los Estados Unidos después de viajar al exterior por un periodo de hasta dos años sin tener que obtener una visa de residente que regresa. Normalmente, los permisos de reingresos son válidos por dos años a partir de la fecha de emisión.
Además, podría obtener un permiso de reingreso si tiene planificado viajar fuera de los Estados Unidos y no puede, o no desea, sacar un pasaporte de su país natal. Muchos países tal vez le permitan usar su permiso de reingreso tal como se usa el pasaporte, colocando en el permiso las visas necesarias y los sellos de entrada y salida, de manera que pueda usarlo como su principal documento de viaje.
Antes de viajar, asegúrese de verificar los requerimientos del país o de los países a donde tiene planificado viajar, aquí lagunas preguntas frecuentes.
¿Cómo puedo obtener el permiso de reingreso?
Si desea obtener un permiso de reingreso, el Formulario I-131, Solicitud para Documento de Viaje. Debe presentar esta solicitud con mucha anticipación antes de su viaje. El Formulario I-131 está disponible en nuestro sitio web: www.uscis.gov/es.
¿Qué pasará si no se solicita el permiso de reingreso antes de viajar fuera de los Estados Unidos?
Si usted es residente permanente legal y tiene planificado viajar fuera de los Estados Unidos por un año o más, es importante que solicite su permiso de reingreso antes de salir de los Estados Unidos.
Si permanece fuera del país por un año o más y no solicitó el permiso de reingreso antes de salir, se podría considerar que usted ha abandonado su estatus de residente permanente. Si esto sucede, podría ser referido a comparecer ante un juez de inmigración para determinar si abandonó o no su estatus. Si está en esta situación, consulte con el Consulado de los Estados Unidos acerca de la visa de reingreso de residente.
Soy un residente permanente legal y necesito viajar al extranjero. ¿Puedo presentar mi Formulario I-131 para conseguir un permiso de reingreso mientras estoy fuera de los Estados Unidos?
No. Usted no puede presentar el Formulario I-131 para obtener un permiso de reingreso a menos que esté físicamente presente en los Estados Unidos cuando presente el formulario. Usted debe presentar su Formulario I-131 por lo menos 60 días antes de la fecha programada para su viaje al extranjero.
Si presento el Formulario I-131 para obtener un permiso de reingreso mientras estoy en los Estados Unidos, ¿es posible que USCIS rechace mi Formulario I-131 si salgo de los Estados Unidos mientras el formulario aún está pendiente?
Recomendamos que presente el Formulario I-131 mientras está en los Estados Unidos. Sin embargo, usted no necesita estar en los Estados Unidos para que USCIS apruebe su Formulario I-131 y emita un permiso de reingreso para usted siempre y cuando ya se hayan obtenido sus datos biométricos. Usted puede indicar en su Formulario I-131 que desea que USCIS envíe su permiso de reingreso a una Embajada de los Estados Unidos, un Consulado, o una oficina del Departamento de Seguridad Nacional (DHS, por sus siglas en inglés) en el extranjero, para que usted pueda recogerlo en uno de ellos.
Si presento el Formulario I-131 para obtener un permiso de reingreso mientras estoy en los Estados Unidos, ¿puedo presentar mis datos biométricos mientras estoy fuera de los Estados Unidos?
No. Cuando usted presente su Formulario I-131 para obtener un permiso de reingreso, USCIS le notificará cuándo debe presentarse al Centro de Asistencia en Solicitudes (ASC, por sus siglas en inglés) designado para la obtención de sus datos biométricos. Usted deberá facilitar sus datos biométricos en el ASC mientras está en los Estados Unidos. Si usted sale de los Estados Unidos antes de facilitar sus datos biométricos, USCIS podría denegar su solicitud.
¿Qué ocurre si tengo que salir de los Estados Unidos antes de poder presentar un Formulario I-131 para conseguir un permiso de reingreso?
Usted no necesita un permiso de reingreso si va a estar fuera de los Estados Unidos por menos de un año. Si usted ha estado fuera de los Estados Unidos por menos de un año, puede utilizar su Tarjeta de Residente Permanente (Formulario I-551) como su documento de viaje.
Tengo un viejo permiso de reingreso. ¿Debo devolverlo si estoy solicitando uno nuevo?
Los permisos de reingreso no se pueden extender. Si su permiso vence, necesitará solicitar uno nuevo. Si tiene en su posesión un permiso de reingreso que aún es válido, deberá devolverlo cuando solicite uno nuevo. No lo tiene que devolver si ya ha vencido. Por razones de seguridad, USCIS no emitirá un nuevo permiso de reingreso a alguien que ya tiene uno válido en su posesión. Si necesita un nuevo permiso de reingreso porque el anterior se le perdió, se lo robaron o se destruyó, indíquelo en la solicitud para el nuevo permiso.
Lo primero que debe tener en cuenta para aplicar a una beca o viajar a los Estados Unidos a estudiar es tener un dominio del idioma ingles, para ello debe tener el certificado a través del examen IELTS o de examen TOEFL, estos exámenes se presentan desde el país de origen, el costo promedio esta en $USD 225 dolares para fuera de los Estados Unidos.
A continuación todo el proceso, requisitos para acceder a la educación en los Estados Unidos, básicamente en Millennia Atlantic University un centro de estudios que tiene un promedio de 23 estudiantes por clase lo que garantiza la atención individual de los profesores y el personal dedicado.
En Texas, guardias armados se llevaron por la fuerza a 16 padres del centro de detención de Kames County, donde estaban detenidos con sus hijos luego de que sus familias fueran separadas en la frontera y se volvieran a reunir.
Las autoridades habrían tomado la medida de volver a separar a estos padres e hijos como represalia por haber organizado una protesta no violenta en el centro de detención.
Muchos de los padres encarcelados denunciaron haber sido engañados por el Servicio de Inmigración y Control de Aduanas (ICE) que les hizo firmar acuerdos de deportación en inglés diciendo que eran los papeles para la reunificación familiar. Las familias ya han sido nuevamente reunificadas y algunas han sido liberadas.
A continuación la entrevista conCASEY MILLERyMANOJ GOVINDAIAHdel colectivo de asistencia jurídica para inmigrantes RAICES, con sede en Texas.
AMY GOODMAN: This is Democracy Now!, democracynow.org, The War and Peace Report. I’mAMY GOODMAN, as we turn now to Texas, where armed guards forcibly removed 16 fathers from an immigrant jail where they were held with their sons after being separated at the border and then reunited. A boy held at the Karnes County detention center, who’s under the age of 10, spoke to reporters Friday and described what happened through an interpreter.
INTERPRETER: [translatingIMMIGRANT CHILD] He recalls that he was in the school playground playing with his friends and that he was called. He was asked to go into an office, and that’s where he was hold that his dad would meet him soon, but didn’t know when. The child said that he asked for his dad and that he was crying, but nobody told him anything. He kept begging. He kept asking for some result, for some responses, and nothing was told to him. He mentions that he was taken into another room with other kids. And like I mentioned before, nothing was responded to them. He says, “I was crying. I cried the whole day. And I knew that my dad was crying. I saw the other kids crying, and the kids knew that their dads would be crying, as well.”
AMY GOODMAN: The child was speaking to reporters on the phone through an interpreter from the detention center. The reseparation of more than a dozen fathers and sons came in apparent retaliation for their plans to organize a nonviolent protest calling for all of them to be released. This is one of the fathers speaking to reporters by phone from detention Friday.
IMMIGRANT FATHER: [translated] I was talking to other detainees, and there is a plan. We will not be eating, and everyone has agreed. We are doing so because we do not know what will happen to us, and we need to know if we will be deported or given an opportunity to stay here. We are asking the government to free us. We want to be freed. We are not criminals. We want to be freed, because, as a human being, we deserve to be.
AMY GOODMAN: Many of the imprisoned fathers said they had been tricked into signing deportation agreements in English that ICE told them were reunification papers. Hillary Clinton tweeted about their reseparation, writing, quote, “This is a heart-wrenching disgrace.” Late on Friday, the fathers were reunited with their sons, and on Saturday some were released.
For more, we go to San Antonio, about an hour north of the Karnes County detention center, where we’re joined byMANOJ GOVINDAIAH, director of family detention services for RAICES, a Texas-based legal aid group forIMMIGRANT CHILDren, families and refugees, and byCASEY MILLER, legal assistant for RAICES, who was denied access to their child clients after the fathers were taken away.
We welcome you both to Democracy Now! Casey, let’s begin with you. Describe exactly what has taken place here in this last week.
CASEY MILLER: Oh, it’s just been terror, honestly. So, from reports from the father, we have heard that 60 to a hundred ICE agents, who were armed, stormed the building with riot gear, and these men were forcibly taken from their rooms and not told where they were going. And then they were taken to another detention center, which was—told to me by a few men, was the worst of any of the detention centers they’ve been to, in Pearsall, Texas, not told the whereabouts of their sons, and their sons were actually not told the whereabouts of their fathers. So, ICE is just keeping them in the dark and continually torturing them psychologically.
AMY GOODMAN: How old are the children?
CASEY MILLER: Oh, you know, they are so resilient, so they are hanging in there. I think they’re relieved to be reunited with their fathers. And they’re, you know, getting through these multiple traumas the best that they can. You know, a lot of them feel to be a little numb. There’s a lot of sadness still and, I think, a lot of fear that this might happen again. So, they’re just trying to get through each day, really.
AMY GOODMAN: So, explain what went down on Wednesday. Talk about the ICEraid on Karnes.
CASEY MILLER: So, we don’t have—I was not actually there on Wednesday. All I have are stories from the fathers. So, what it sounds like is the men were gathered. There was a group of men gathered outside of the lunchroom, and they were talking about coming to see us at RAICES, their legal services, to find out the status of like their cases. And a guard for the private prison company GEO came up to them and asked them what they were talking about, and they told him. And after that, he walked off.
And a few hours later, some of them were in their rooms, got a knock on the door. Again, men with shields, helmets, some of them armed, forcibly pulled them out of their room and told them nothing, just took them to a room where they sat for six hours. Many of them asked for water. They weren’t even given water. And they weren’t told anything of where they were going. And then they got on a bus. And I read a report from one of the men that there was another little microvan behind them, and they were hoping and praying that their children were in that van, which to no avail.
And they were taken to the other detention center and put into isolation, into, what I said before, some of the worst conditions that these men had been in so far, were not able to leave the room. Heard two reports of one man vomiting blood, another man trying to hang himself with a bed sheet while he was there. They couldn’t speak between cells. And all of their food was brought to the cell and put through a slot. And they were eventually—
AMY GOODMAN: And then?
CASEY MILLER: The next day, they were eventually taken to—back to Karnes, where they were eventually reunited with their sons.
AMY GOODMAN: ICE spokesperson Nina Pruneda said about 40 men were involved in what she called a “disturbance” at Karnes, and said, quote, ”ICE San Antonio deployed additional law enforcement resources to control the situation, and a precautionary measure, instructed all visitors to leave the facility.”MANOJ GOVINDAIAH, can you respond to that statement, that description of what took place from ICE?
MANOJ GOVINDAIAH: Well, from our understanding in talking to our staff and our volunteers who were present on Wednesday and who were escorted out of the building around 12:30 in a haste manner, and then from talking to the fathers and the children, it appears the dads were not involved in any particular kind of disturbance. As Casey mentioned, many of the fathers were in their rooms when ICEagents came to their rooms, knocked on the door, verified their identity, and then immediately took them into a separate room away from their kids.
It’s also our understanding that the children were in school at the time, so the kids, many of—many of the kids did not even see any of this happening, and that the children were denied access to RAICES. We tried to see them multiple times on Wednesday and Thursday of last week. They were denied access to come and see us. It’s our understanding that the kids also tried to come see us.
Our staff went to Pearsall on Thursday, where the 16 men were being held. They were denied access there, as well. Our staff were denied access to the men at Pearsall. And even after they were reunited at Karnes Thursday evening, during legal visitation hours, we were unable to see them there.
An ICE agent confirmed to our—one of our attorneys that the disruptive behavior was that the men were refusing to “go with the flow” and that they were—some of them were not sending their kids to school. Some of them were not participating in activities at the detention center. And that was exactly the type of protest that the men were hoping to do, which was to choose not to avail themselves of services at the detention center, to choose not to have their children go to school. Some were choosing not to eat. And so, it clearly sounds like this is retaliation against nonviolent, lawful protest. And whatever ICE is saying to justify this seems completely, completely untrue.
AMY GOODMAN: Is it illegal for the authorities not to allow you to speak to the children or the parents? We’re talking about—you’re their legal representative.
MANOJ GOVINDAIAH: Yes, we are their lawyers. And, yes, it is, actually. ICE has brought discretion over, you know, visitation hours, and if somebody is in a particular type of housing, then when they can actually see their lawyers. But, you know, especially in terms of the children, ICE flat-out told us, you know, “Oh, it’s Thursday afternoon. The kids are eating pizza and watching a movie. Do you really want to talk to them?” After we pushed and pushed, ICE agreed to go and ask the children, “Do you want to see the lawyers at RAICES?” And they went and asked the kids, and came back and told us, apparently, that the children wanted to wait until their fathers were returned, and that dad and son together would come and see us.
Additionally, there is an outtake processing and an intake processing, both of which take a couple of hours. And even though our clients are physically in the building, if they’re going through outtake, which is what the dads were going through when they were transferred to Pearsall, or if they’re going through intake, which is what the dads were going through when they were returned to Karnes, we are also unable to see our clients during that time.
AMY GOODMAN: I want to turn back to the jailed boy at Karnes County detention center who was separated from his dad, not once, but twice, and has been detained for months since they first came to the U.S. border. The boy had this message for President Trump.
IMMIGRANT CHILD: [translated] I want to tell the president to, please, please let us out. Please release us. Give us the opportunity to stay here to have a better future. … Don’t deport us, please. Please don’t deport us from here, because I want to go forward with my dad and not take a step backwards.
AMY GOODMAN:MANOJ GOVINDAIAH, we didn’t identify him because he’s not identifying himself. Do you know who he is and if he’s still in or has been released?
MANOJ GOVINDAIAH: Yes, we do know who he is. He is one of our clients, as is his father. I believe, as of Friday last week, they, he and his father, were still detained at the Karnes detention center. We will be checking this morning to see if they have been released over the weekend.
AMY GOODMAN: I want to thank you both for—
CASEY MILLER: And I—
AMY GOODMAN: Oh, Casey, last words?
CASEY MILLER: I was just going to say, and I met with both him and his father after the interview, and they both seemed in better spirits and hopeful about their release.
AMY GOODMAN: Some of the fathers in your meeting broke down crying?
CASEY MILLER: Yes, yes, all of them did. They’ve just been tortured psychologically by ICE time and time again, and they’re just fearful that anything like this could happen again at any time. And they’ve just had everything, you know, pushed upon them and are at the breaking point. So, yes, every man I met with at some point did break down in tears.
AMY GOODMAN: I want to thank you both for being with us. We’ll continue to be on this story.CASEY MILLERandMANOJ GOVINDAIAH, with RAICES, the Texas-based legal aid group for immigrants.
De otra parte en San Bernardino, California, agentes del Servicio estadounidense de Inmigración y control de Aduanas (ICE por su sigla en inglés), arrestaron el miércoles a un hombre que conducía a su esposa embarazada al hospital para dar a luz.
La escena generó gran indignación social. Los agentes del ICE detuvieron a Joel Arrona-Lara cuando paró el auto en una estación de gasolina y obligaron a su esposa parturientta, María del Carmen Venegas, a manejar ella misma hasta el hospital donde tenía programada su cesárea.
La pareja vive en Estados Unidos hace más de 10 años y tienen cinco hijos e hijas, contando el que acaba de nacer.
Para ampliar esa información, vea (en inglés) nuestra conversación con el abogado de Joel Arrona-Lara,RUSSELL JAUREGUI, integrante del equipo jurídico del Centro de Servicio Comunitario de San Bernardino.
AMY GOODMAN: We begin today’s show in California, where Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents detained and arrested a man who was taking his pregnant wife to the hospital to give birth. Joel Arrona-Lara was driving his wifeMARIA DEL CARMEN VENEGASto a San Bernardino hospital Wednesday morning for a scheduled C-section when ICE agents detained him at a gas station. Surveillance video shows two ICE vehicles surrounding the couple’s car immediately after they pulled into the station to get gas.MARIA DEL CARMEN VENEGASsaid agents asked the couple for identification, but that her husband had left his documents at home in the rush to get to the hospital. ICE agents then handcuffed him and took him into custody, leaving the 9-month-pregnant Venegas at the gas station sobbing in distress. She then drove herself to the hospital and gave birth alone several hours later.
ICE said, in a statement, Joel Arrona-Lara was detained because he’s wanted in Mexico on homicide charges. But Arrona-Lara’s lawyer says the charges are unconfirmed and that he has no criminal record. Videos of the incident circulated online over the weekend, sparking national outrage. But ICE issued a statement saying, quote, ”ICE will no longer exempt classes or categories of removable aliens from potential enforcement. All of those in violation of the immigration laws may be subject to immigration arrest, detention and, if found removable by final order, removal from the United States.”
Here’sMARIA DEL CARMEN VENEGASspeaking about her husband’s detention from the hospital.
MARIA DEL CARMEN VENEGAS: [translated] It’s very difficult, because he’s always been there. And he told me that everything was going to be OK, that I shouldn’t worry, that we were going to meet the baby, things like that. So, to be alone yesterday as I was, I felt terrible.
AMY GOODMAN: Arrona-Lara and his wife have been living in the United states for 12 years. They have five children, three of whom are U.S. citizens. Arrona-Lara is the sole breadwinner for his family. His wife Maria is asking for his immediate release.
For more, we go toRUSSELL JAUREGUI, staff attorney at the San Bernardino Community Service Center, lawyer for Joel Arrona-Lara, Maria’s husband.
Welcome to Democracy Now! Russell, can you start off by explaining exactly what took place last week?
RUSSELL JAUREGUI: Well, what happened on August 15th, Wednesday morning, about 10:00, was Mr. Lara was taking his wife to the hospital because she was going to give birth to a baby via C-section. They stopped at a gas station in San Bernardino on the corner of Mountain View and Highland. It was an ARCO station. He got out to get gas, and immediately he was—they were surrounded by two SUVs. ICE agents then approached his wife, asked for her ID, which she produced. And then the ICE agents approached him and asked for his ID, which he did not have, because in the haste of leaving his home to get his wife to the hospital, he just forgot it. And so his wife pleaded with the officers to allow him to go home and to get his ID, because, in fact, they live just right down the corner from the glass—excuse me, from gas station. He was not allowed to do so. He was immediately arrested. And as you said, she basically panicked and had to drive herself to the hospital. And that’s basically what happened on that day.
AMY GOODMAN: So, both she and he had ID, had a form of documents?
RUSSELL JAUREGUI: Correct. He had some kind of form. It probably was a—we don’t know exactly what kind of ID that he had. I’m guessing it was probably a driver’s license here in California, because here in California all people, including undocumented, have the right to have—apply for and obtain a California driver’s license. So, he may have had a California driver’s license. He may have a Mexican ID. So he did have a form of ID, but they did not allow him to go and get it. And he just lived down the block from the gas station.
AMY GOODMAN: So, Maria went to—drove herself to the hospital, and she gave birth—
RUSSELL JAUREGUI: Correct.
AMY GOODMAN: —a few hours later?
RUSSELL JAUREGUI: She gave birth, and, yeah, a few hours—I don’t know exactly when, but she did give birth to the baby, and the baby was born, you know, thank God, safely. And she was released from the hospital just this last Saturday.
AMY GOODMAN: So she was alone when she gave birth?
RUSSELL JAUREGUI: Yes. Well, yeah, she was without her husband, correct, and the baby’s father.
AMY GOODMAN: We see her inside the gas station, it seems hysterical, speaking on the phone, just through the closed-circuit video.
RUSSELL JAUREGUI: Right.
AMY GOODMAN: So, can you explain why ICE has said they picked him up?
RUSSELL JAUREGUI: Well, at first, he was just arrested for not having an ID. And it wasn’t until Thursday—almost three days later, where they made a statement about him—them detaining him because of him having an arrest warrant in Mexico for a homicide. Well, number one, he’s been here 12 years, and this has never been an issue with him before. Number two, he completely denies that, saying that “I’ve never had any kind of arrest warrant in Mexico.” And number three, we have reviewed the charging documents from him, from the immigration—from the ICEagents, and the—just basically, the charging documents allege that he came without status, that he is from Mexico, and therefore he is removable from the United States. Does not mention anything about any kind of homicide arrest in Mexico. And since he’s been detained, what he tells me is no one’s ever brought this to his attention.
AMY GOODMAN: So, what rights does he have right now? Where is he being held?
RUSSELL JAUREGUI: He’s being held at the Theo Lacy detention center. He does have a right to a bond hearing before an immigration judge in immigration court. He does have the right to counsel. We’re going to represent him pro bono. He does have the right to pursue a bond hearing to see, determine if he can be released. We’re hoping that he can, given his length of time here in the United States and the fact that he does have three U.S. citizen children. And then, if he is, hopefully, released on bond, then his case will continue with the immigration courts, where he’ll be pursuing his, hopefully, relief during a removal hearing before an immigration judge, where he’ll have to prove that, you know, his U.S. citizen kids will suffer exceptional and extreme and unusual hardships without him if he’s removed.
AMY GOODMAN: Has he—
RUSSELL JAUREGUI: And this process could take one or two years.
AMY GOODMAN: Has he gotten to see his infant son and his wife?
RUSSELL JAUREGUI: No, he has not. I know he’s been in touch with his wife, but he has not been able to see his son. So, that’s—
AMY GOODMAN: Could he—
RUSSELL JAUREGUI: Our main goal is to get him released, so he can be with his family and see his son. That’s our main goal right now.
AMY GOODMAN: Is it possible he would be deported before seeing his son?
RUSSELL JAUREGUI: I don’t think that’s going to—I don’t believe that’s going to happen. You know, his wife, she’s a family member, so she does have visitation rights to see him. But right now, given her condition, because the baby was just born, I don’t think she’s in a condition to go see him right now.
AMY GOODMAN: Was this issue of a homicide charge brought up after the outcry grew over that day and the next day, when people saw the video?
RUSSELL JAUREGUI: That’s a very good question. I think, yeah, it was. It was. And so, the timing of this is kind of odd, because this happened, I believe, after the video went viral, after the public outcry. And so, that’s when this announcement was made, on Saturday, which is almost what? Three days after he was arrested.
AMY GOODMAN: “Zero tolerance.” Is this under the “zero tolerance” policy? And can you see this policy changing?
RUSSELL JAUREGUI: I think this is more—”zero tolerance” is what’s happening with the—on the border with the unaccompanied minors. This is more, I think, of the Trump administration’s policy of basically everyone now being at risk of being—anybody here without status as being at risk of being detained and arrested. But as you can see, this has human consequences. It affects, you know, U.S. citizen kids. There’s nothing in—I don’t think ICE has any protocol for dealing with people who are transporting their spouses, you know, who are about to give birth. And so, you know, as we can see with other situations, this reminds me of the case where the—I think it was a young girl who was passing through a border checkpoint in Texas, who had serious disabilities, and ICE followed her all the way to the hospital. And this is like the children at the border who have been detained, separated from their parents, with no plan for reunification. This is just—this is egregious acts, and they’re cruel. And so, there needs to be some kind of change in policy, and, if not, some kind of change in—some change in administration.
AMY GOODMAN: I want to thank you so much for being with us,RUSSELL JAUREGUI, staff attorney at the San Bernardino Community [Service] Center. He is the lawyer for Joel Arrona-Lara, who was picked up by ICE agents as he was driving his wife to the hospital to give birth.
