Immigrant-rights activist Erika Andiola felt the strong arm of ICE (U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement) late Thursday night, when her mother and brother were taken from their home in a “routine” raid and her mother put on a bus headed to the Mexican border.
Andiola is the founder of the Arizona DREAM Act Coalition, a youth-led movement which works to promote the education of young immigrants and keep family members from being separated by deportation. She is a high profile leader, and has worked with the Obama White House on immigration reform. As a U.S. college graduate, she herself is a recipient of a DREAM Act waiver, which prevents her deportation for at least two years.
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Thursday night, ICE officers raided Andiola’s Phoenix, AZ home and seized her mother and brother for deportation to Mexico. It was only through quick action—and hours spent pleading with ICE officials—that Andiola was able to obtain their release, but not before her mother was put on a bus headed for the Mexican border.
Hmm, immigration officers snatch the family members of a high-profile immigration activist from their home in a late-night raid and threaten to deport them, only to exercise “discretion” and release them at the last minute. ICE told news outlets that the raid and seizure of Andiola’s family was “routine” and not related to her activism. How can they even say that with a straight face?
