DACA Recipient Detained: Wife Speaks Out on Conditions and ICE's Claims

Detainment of Catalina Santiago

• 📌 Catalina “Xóchitl” Santiago, a 28-year-old community organizer with DACA status, was detained by Customs and Border Protection officers at the El Paso airport while boarding a domestic flight.
• 💔 Despite legally living in the U.S. under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program for four years, she has remained in ICE detention in Texas since August 3rd.
• ✈️ The detainment occurred when an officer approached her at the airport, questioned her, and confiscated her DACA card, leading to her inability to contact her wife for several hours.

Conditions in ICE Detention

• 🏥 Concerns have been raised about the lack of adequate medical attention for detainees, including pregnant women, with requests for help often met with just water.
• 🤢 Detainees have reported receiving expired or sickness-inducing food.
• 😴 Conditions are described as inhumane, with lights on all night and loud guards preventing detainees from sleeping.

Disputed Claims by DHS

• 🤥 The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) statement calling Santiago a "criminal illegal alien" with a history of charges for trespassing, possession of narcotics, and drug paraphernalia is blatantly false, according to her wife.
• ✅ Santiago's legal team has confirmed she has no criminal convictions that would revoke her DACA status and no pending criminal charges.
• 🚫 Her wife asserts that DHS and ICE lack any legal basis for her detention or deportation proceedings, as she holds a valid work permit and DACA protection.

Broader Implications of DACA Detainments

• ⚠️ It is deeply concerning that ICE is knowingly holding someone with DACA protection and claiming their status does not matter.
• 🗣️ The administration's use of language like "criminals" and "illegal aliens" is seen as a tactic to distract from the reality of detaining and attempting to deport individuals who are family members and integral parts of communities.
• ⚖️ The speaker, as Santiago's spouse, highlights the personal impact of national immigration policies and hopes this case brings light to the dangers faced under the current administration.