The families of several day laborers who were taken into custody during a federal raid in Pomona are speaking out, alleging the workers are being denied their due process.
Activists and community members held a press conference outside Pomona City Hall on Tuesday, demanding answers and transparency after a court hearing was held for three detained workers.
On April 22, at least 10 day laborers were taken into custody by U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents as they waited outside a Home Depot store, looking for work.
The raid sparked concern as immigrant rights advocates protested the targeting of those they described as innocent civilians.
Video of the raid showed Border Patrol vehicles surrounding the store’s parking lot as the laborers were taken to an undisclosed location.
Activists said three of those undocumented workers were later transferred into the custody of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and were being held at a detention facility in Calexico.
A bond hearing for the three workers was scheduled on Tuesday morning for Jesus Domingo Ros, Edwin Juarez, and Johnny Garcia.
“I will remind the public that an immigration judge only considers two factors to issue a bond hearing: Is this detainee a flight risk? Is this detainee a national security threat or public safety risk?” said Alexis Teodoro, a Worker Rights Director with the Pomona Economic Opportunity Center.
But during Tuesday’s hearing, Teodoro claimed ICE officials said the local immigration judge lacked jurisdiction because the men had been living in the U.S. for less than one year, making them ineligible for a bond hearing and instead, subject to expedited removal.
Teodoro said not only were those claims false, but that none of the men are threats to public safety and a bond hearing is within their basic rights.
“All three men have been living in the United States for more than two years,” Teodoro said. “ICE is trying to push through expedited deportations by lying to the court and denying these men the most basic rights—like the right to be heard. Looking for work is not a crime. Waiting for a job opportunity outside a Home Depot isn’t a threat to anyone.”
Arturo Burga, an immigration attorney based in the Inland Empire, shed more light on the case.
“If you don’t have any evidence that you’ve been in the country for more than two years, you could be at risk of expedited removal and that’s very fast,” Burga said.
If evidence to support that timeline isn’t found, Burga said their due process is limited. However, if they have indeed been living in the U.S. for more than a year, they’ll have more options.
“They‘ll get an opportunity to defend themselves from deportation with an immigration judge, but that process is not quick,” Burga said.
In a previous statement on the Home Depot raid, CBP officials said, “Agents conducted an operation in Pomona targeting an illegal alien with an active arrest warrant. During the operation, nine additional illegal aliens were encountered and taken into custody. Several of those apprehended had prior charges, including child abuse, assault with a deadly weapon, immigration violations, and DUI.”
However, Teodoro claimed many of the detained laborers did not have criminal records. As for the three workers they’re representing, they intend to prove the men have been living and working in the U.S. for more than a year, that they should be released, and that they deserve a fair hearing before a judge.
“We demand that their due process rights are respected and that they are at least given the opportunity to post bond,” Teodoro said.
A follow-up court hearing is scheduled for May 9.
KTLA has reached out to the U.S. Customs and Border Protection and the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) for a statement and is awaiting a response.
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