ICE agents arrested a man in Texas while he was on his way to deliver milk to his 12-day-old daughter as she received treatment in an isolation chamber at a neonatal intensive care unit, according to a report.
Juan Chavez Velasco, 35, is a married father of three with degrees in both biology and clinical laboratory science who works as a medical laboratory scientist and distinguished himself by serving on the front lines of an emergency room during the Covid-19 pandemic, MS NOW reports.
He was detained in Weslaco on February 18, taken into custody at the Webb County Detention Center in Laredo, and is now facing deportation to Colombia without ever getting to hold his infant daughter, Elianna, who was born premature and is now five weeks old.
A GoFundMe appeal set up by Chavez Velasco’s wife, Stephanie Villareal, which was nearly halfway towards its $10,000 goal at the time of writing, reveals that Elianna is struggling to produce red blood cells and requires 24-hour blood transfusions to keep her health stable.
Villareal points out that her husband has the right blood type to be a potential donor match for their child, adding: “More importantly, she needs her father here during this critical time in her life.”
Chavez Velasco was on the phone with Villareal – who, like all three of their children, is a U.S. citizen – when he was accosted by federal agents last month. She heard them yelling at her husband and ordering him to get out of his vehicle, saying she was “really panicked” by the exchange.
Chavez Velasco told MS NOW he had told the agents he was a recipient of protections granted under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, otherwise known as a “Dreamer,” to which they allegedly replied: “That doesn’t matter.”
He was reportedly first brought to the U.S. from South America by his parents in 1999 when he was aged eight. The family overstayed their tourist visa and applied for asylum, a request that was rejected in 2004, ultimately resulting in a final removal order once their appeal was dismissed. The order was never enforced.
His father and mother were ultimately able to reopen their case in 2016 and secure legal residence through their U.S. citizen daughter, a process that typically takes 12-18 months for parents but much longer for siblings, approaching 15-20 years. Knowing this, Chavez Velasco had enrolled with DACA in 2012.
He submitted a renewal application in November last year, but it went unanswered. It has since been established that his DACA status expired on March 10, by which time he was already in custody.
“He has no criminal history,” Villareal told MS NOW. “Never has had any type of criminal history. He did everything right.”
Chavez Velasco himself said, “I feel betrayed. I feel very sad and heartbroken because I would have thought that the Trump administration would be more compassionate towards people like me who contribute to the country and have basically lived here all our lives. I love this country. I love what I’ve been able to accomplish here.
“We’re all contributing, we’re all paying taxes, this is our home. I’m not asking for a free ride. I feel like a majority of people would agree that we deserve something because it wasn’t our fault to be here and because we love this country. We want to be here, we want to be part of this. We want to be Americans, because we’re Americans at heart.”
A Department of Homeland Security spokesperson told the network Chavez Velasco is “an illegal alien” who was “issued a final order of removal in 2005,” ignoring the failure to enforce it or the later change in his family’s status.
“Illegal aliens who claim to be recipients of DACA are not automatically protected from deportations,” they said.
“DACA does NOT confer any form of legal status in this country. Any illegal alien who is a DACA recipient may be subject to arrest and deportation for a number of reasons, including if they’ve committed a crime.” According to Villareal, that example does not apply to her spouse.
“Being in detention is a choice,” the spokesperson concluded, urging DACA recipients to self-deport and receive “$2,600 and a free flight.”
The Independent has also reached out to the DHS and ICE for comment.
Jodi Goodwin, Chavez Velasco’s attorney, said the best outcome in his case would be for U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services to renew his DACA status and for ICE to release him.
“We’re straddling a tightrope, because we need time and we don’t have that kind of time if they’re going to put him on a plane,” Goodwin said.
“I don’t have a lot of faith in what we’re doing here, because I don’t have any faith in ICE whatsoever.”
The attorney told The Daily Beast: “We are currently pursuing congressional assistance through various Congress members, as well as considering any other legal strategy to keep him here with his family.
“The Trump administration has changed the core meaning of what deferred action is by taking him into custody. DACA holders beware! Trump is coming for you, too.”
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