Deteriorating risks of deportation for DACA recipients are underscored by the incarceration of an immigrant activist
Immigrant Rights Activist Catalina "Xochitl" Santiago Detained by U.S. Immigration Authorities
Catalina "Xochitl" Santiago, a 28-year-old immigrant rights activist and community organiser, was detained by U.S. immigration authorities on August 3 at an airport in El Paso. Santiago, who is a beneficiary of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, has valid DACA status, making her one of nearly 538,000 undocumented young adults authorized to work and study in the U.S.
Santiago's detention occurred before boarding a domestic flight, when two men in Border Patrol uniforms approached her and questioned her about her work authorization. The administration of President Donald Trump has stated that DACA recipients "may be subject to arrest and deportation" because DACA does not confer any form of legal status in the U.S.
Santiago's attorneys, Islas and Luis Cortes, have filed a motion to terminate ongoing deportation proceedings against their client based on her DACA protections. Cortes labeled the remarks by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) as an attempt to "vilify her in order to justify her detention and her arrest."
Deya Aldana, national campaigns director at United We Dream, stated that the immigration detentions of DACA recipients, such as Santiago's, are not isolated incidents but a blatant and alarming escalation in the effort to weaken DACA. NBC News reported the immigration detentions of four other DACA recipients last month.
Santiago originally comes from Mexico and grew up in South Florida. She has worked with the group Movimiento Cosecha to advocate for undocumented immigrants in El Paso. Santiago's case is one of the most recent showing how increasingly DACA recipients are being detained amid Trump's immigration crackdown efforts.
It is estimated that 600,000 DACA-eligible teenagers and young adults have been shut out from the program due to Trump's efforts to end DACA in his first term and Republican legal challenges. However, a court ruling this year determined that all DACA recipients can continue to renew their status as long as they meet their requirements.
DACA opened job and educational pathways to hundreds of thousands of young people without legal immigration status, becoming one of the most successful immigrant integration policies since 2012. Santiago has a trespassing conviction that happened during a peaceful civil disobedience action organized as part of the youth mobilization efforts that helped keep DACA in place.
Santiago was married to Desiree Miller earlier this year. The immigration detention of Santiago has sparked outrage and calls for her release from immigration advocates and community members. Santiago's case highlights the ongoing challenges and uncertainties faced by DACA recipients under the Trump administration.
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