President Joe Biden’s administration deported hundreds of immigrants in its early days despite his campaign promise to stop expelling the majority of people in the United States illegally early in his term.
A federal judge last week ordered the Biden administration not to enforce a 100-day moratorium on deportations.
In recent days, the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has deported immigrants to at least three countries: 15 people to Jamaica on Thursday and 269 people to Guatemala and Honduras on Friday. More deportation flights were scheduled for Monday.
It’s unclear how many of those individuals are considered threats to national security or public safety or have recently crossed the border illegally, the priority under new guidance that the Department of Homeland Security issued to enforcement agencies. That guide went into effect Monday.
In the border city of El Paso, Texas, immigration authorities deported a woman Friday who witnessed the 2019 massacre at a Walmart that left 22 people dead. She had agreed to be a witness against the assailant and has met with the local district attorney’s office, according to her attorneys.
Rosa was pulled over Wednesday for a broken brake light, detained based on earlier traffic warrants, then transferred to ICE, which deported her before she could contact her attorney, said Melissa Lopez, executive director of the nonprofit organization Diocesan Migrant & Refugee Services, which represents refugees.
Rosa is identified only by her first name because she fears for her safety in Juárez, a city across the US-Mexico border from El Paso that is known for violence and gang activity.
Jail records confirm that Rosa was booked into the El Paso jail Wednesday on arrest warrants and left on Friday. ICE had issued what is known as a “hold,” seeking to detain her for immigration violations on the day she was arrested, according to the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office.
The El Paso district attorney’s office confirmed in a statement Monday that it had provided Rosa’s attorneys with the necessary documentation to apply for a U.S. crime victim visa. But the statement also said that Rosa “is not a victim of the Walmart shooting case.” The district attorney did not immediately respond to follow-up questions.
Her attorneys say Rosa pleaded guilty in 2018 to driving under the influence and then ICE released her, underscoring that former President Donald Trump’s authorities previously found that she was not a threat to the public, Lopez said.
Both Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris openly opposed the Trump administration’s immigration priorities during the presidential campaign.
