Immigration advocates alarmed over detention of Daca recipient: ‘No legal basis’

Santiago’s case illustrates the increasing vulnerability of hundreds of thousands of young people who arrived in the US as children. Photograph: Courtesy of Desiree Miller

Catalina “Xochitl” Santiago had already made it past the security line at the El Paso airport when two border patrol agents called her in for questioning and whisked her away to an immigration detention center.

Nearly a month after her arrest, she and her family still aren’t clear why she is detained. Santiago is a beneficiary of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (Daca) program – which has allowed her to legally live and work in the US.