Daniela Vargas, 22, shared the experiences they went through as a family in Jackson, Mississippi, during a news conference. She also included the arrest of both her father and brother by the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents. She was the voice of immigrants who were young and undocumented, and they wanted to attain legal status. On Wednesday, she was arrested by the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents for sharing her story.
Vargas championed for young people like herself, who were brought into the country illegally when they were children. They later qualified for a brief pardon from being deported under the Obama –era Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, DACA. The beneficiaries of the DREAM Act are often known as DREAMers. If Congress approves the Act, it will give the recipients of DACA permanent legal status.
“The path to citizenship is necessary for DACA recipients but also for the other 11 million undocumented people with dreams.” She told reporters. “Today, my father and brother await deportation, while I continue to fight this battle as a DREAMer to help contribute to this country, which I feel that is very much my country.”
Vargas openly said she came with her family to the United States when she was seven years old as an undocumented immigrant and later became a DACA recipient. The status lasts for two years.
It is recommended by the government that DACA recipients renew their status between 150 and 120 days before their current status expires. For Daniela Vargas, according to her attorney, Abby Peterson, her DACA status expired in November. At the time she could not afford the minimum renewal application fee of $495, and so the process was postponed until last month.
Bill Chandler, the executive director of the Mississippi Immigrant Rights Alliance, confirmed that he was at the scene when Vargas’ father and brother were taken into the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody. It happened on February 15 a few days after Vargas had reapplied for her DACA status renewal.
“We stood vigil outside of the house for about 5 hours,” said Chandler. “ICE was trying to persuade Daniela to come out of the house. Of course, she refused. They went and got a search warrant. Then they decided to break into the house and confront her.”
“She convinced them that she was a DACA person,” Chandler continued. “But they threatened her and said they are going to come back and get her.”
Angela Stuesse, a friend to Vargas, said, “She was terrified, locked in a closet, ICE pounding on her door, asking what she was supposed to do. And I was also terrified. And that went on for hours.” Stuesse also said despite the rough encounters with the enforcement agents, she had a dream of teaching math at a university. She also wanted to share her experiences with the ICE agents and thought that her story might be able to assist some people, according to Stuesse.
Shortly after she departed from the news conference, ICE agents followed her and took her in because her DACA status had expired.
