A father has been nabbed by ICE agents just 12 days after the premature birth of his daughter.
Juan Chavez Velasco, 35, was grabbed by Immigration and Customs Enforcement while on his way to deliver milk to the newborn in Weslaco, Texas. Immigration agents pulled in front of his car and hauled him off despite Chavez telling the team he had a wife in the hospital and he was protected by DACA. The deferred action for childhood arrivals response did little for the agents, who said it “doesn’t matter” and took Chavez away.
Chavez, who says he “never got to hold” his child before being taken by ICE agents to Webb County Detention Center, is one of a growing number of Dreamers who believed they were protected by DACA before being nabbed by agents.
The 35-year-old, speaking with MSNOW, 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.”
His wife, Villarreal, added, “He has no criminal history. Never has had any type of criminal history. He did everything right.”
Their daughter, Elianna, was born on February 6.
Chavez Velasco’s DACA status expired on March 10 while he was being held at Webb County Detention Center, and despite filing a renewal request with the government.
Jodi Goodwin, Chavez Velasco’s attorney, hopes the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services renews his DACA and that ICE releases 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.”
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