After Sharing Her Immigration Story, 22-Year-Old Dreamer Detained by ICE

Twenty-two-year-old “Dreamer” Daniela Vargas, whose family came to the United States from Argentina when she was seven years old, was detained by Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on Wednesday morning, shortly after speaking out publicly about the rights of undocumented immigrants.

According to Mississippi’s Clarion-Ledger, Vargas was among the speakers at a press conference in Jackson, Mississippi, hosted by local immigration attorneys, churches, and the Mississippi Immigrants Rights Alliance to bring attention to families impacted by deportation. She told attendees that she wanted to complete her college education and become a math teacher, and relayed her own harrowing recent experience during an ICE home raid, during which she hid in a closet as agents took away her father and brother. She went “underground” after that, and came out of hiding to speak on Wednesday.

“Mothers and fathers, sisters and brothers are living with the fear of uncertainty that they will be separated from loved ones or that they will be forced into the margins of society.”
—Eddie Carmona, PICO National Network

“Today, my father and brother await deportation while I continue to fight this battle as a Dreamer to help contribute to this country, which I feel is very much my country,” Vargas said at the press conference before she was arrested herself.

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“As a friend drove Vargas away from the news conference, their vehicle was pulled over by ICE agents,” the newspaper reports, citing Vargas’ attorney, Abby Peterson. “Agents reportedly told Vargas, ‘You know who we are, you know what we’re here for’.”

“Vargas was immediately detained and taken into custody,” the Clarion-Ledger adds. “Her friend was released.”

According to news outlets, Vargas’ Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) status is expired but her $495 renewal application is pending. DACA recipients, also known as “Dreamers,” are undocumented immigrants brought to the U.S. as a young children who are given permission to live and work legally in the country. Other than minor traffic offenses, Vargas has no record. She is currently being held in ICE detention without bond.

“It could be retaliation,” Peterson told the Huffington Post of Vargas’ detention. “They had been reading about her in the news, they had seen her at this press conference… [maybe] they didn’t want to hear it anymore. Maybe I’m mistaken on that, but common sense would certainly imply that’s what happened.”