Judge says arrested Mexican 'Dreamer' can be released

Daniel Ramirez Medina, 23, was brought to the US illegally as a child but was protected from deportation by President Barack Obama's administration. Picture: Daniel Ramirez Medina/Public Counsel via AP

Daniel Ramirez Medina, 23, was brought to the US illegally as a child but was protected from deportation by President Barack Obama's administration. Picture: Daniel Ramirez Medina/Public Counsel via AP

Published Mar 29, 2017

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Seattle - A Mexican immigrant with a work permit

who was arrested by US authorities was granted bond by an

immigration judge and is expected to be released from federal

custody on Wednesday, his legal team said in a statement.

Daniel Ramirez Medina was arrested near Seattle last month

by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers who

subsequently alleged Ramirez had gang ties and should be

deported. Ramirez's lawyers have denied their client has any

gang involvement or criminal record, and called his arrest

unconstitutional.

Ramirez, among illegal immigrants known as "Dreamers," came

to the United States with his parents when he was about 10 years

old. The case is being closely watched by other Dreamers who

worry that they could be swept up in more aggressive immigration

enforcement under President Donald Trump.

The term Dreamers refers to about 750 000 immigrants brought

to the country illegally as children, who have been afforded

some protection from deportation under an Obama-era program

called Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (Daca).

An immigration judge granted Ramirez's release this week on

a $15 000 (about R195 000) bond while proceedings over his legal status in the

country continue, his lawyers said.

An ICE spokeswoman could not immediately answer questions

about whether the agency would appeal the bond order.

Under US law, deportation cases must be heard by

immigration courts, which are administered by the Department of

Justice. But Ramirez's attorneys say he is entitled to challenge

the circumstances of his arrest in federal court.

Earlier this month, a Seattle magistrate judge recommended

that his court hear Ramirez's legal claims around his arrest.

The Justice Department has challenged that recommendation. 

Reuters

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