More than five months after ICE arrested Romulo Avelica while he was dropping his daughters off at school on February 28, the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) today granted an emergency stay of removal, preventing his deportation while the BIA reviews his case. The Ninth Circuit had stayed his deportation from the date of his arrest, but that stay was due to expire today.
More than five months after ICE arrested Romulo Avelica while he was dropping his daughters off at school, ICE has said that it will review his stay request on Monday, August 7th, and is again threatening to deport him imminently. Mr. Avelica’s lawyers, alongside a delegation of clergy, educators, students, families and elected officials, will provide an update on his case and demand that ICE stay his deportation, release him from detention, and request that the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) also review his case.
On Thursday, Acting Director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Thomas D. Homan hosted a press briefing at the White House. Throughout the briefing Mr. Homan made statements critical of sanctuary cities and regarding the mass arrests of undocumented immigrants with or without criminal convictions.
On Tuesday afternoon, the Trump administration issued a new policy for local governments stating that they are required to “give federal officials advance notice when illegal immigrants are about to be released from custody and allow immigration agents access to local jails” or risk losing federal grants. The new policy specifically applies to cities that receive funds from the “Byrne Justice Assistance grant program.
On Monday, immigration advocates announced the filing of a Public Records Act (PRA) request to demand transparency from Gardena Police Chief Edward Medrano, who is also the head of the CA Police Chief’s Association, around “entanglement” and collusion with Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
On Wednesday, the California Values Act (SB-54, de León), widely considered as the ‘sanctuary state’ bill, passed the Assembly Judiciary Comittee with support from Democratic lawmakers. The bill would limit California involvement in enforcement of federal immigration law.
Today, the LA City Council voted overwhelmingly (11-1) in support of the LA Justice Fund, a public-private partnership to provide deportation defense for immigrants facing the threat of removal. The City Council approved $2 million for the first two years of the program, to complement $3 million from the County and $5 million from private foundations.
On Friday, June 16, without opposition from the City Attorney and on the ground of a legal invalidity, a judge granted the request of Romulo Avelica to vacate his 1998 misdemeanor conviction for receipt of stolen property. Mr. Avelica is an undocumented father of four U.S. citizen children and long-time Los Angeles resident whose arrest by immigration agents while dropping his daughters at school on February 28, 2017 sparked widespread outrage. The conviction, which stemmed from an incident involving Mr. Avelica’s display of a vehicle registration sticker that he had not purchased, had previously led federal immigration authorities to hold him ineligible for certain forms of relief from deportation. As part of the vacatur, Mr. Avelica re-pled to a lesser vehicle code violation in relation to the incident. A judge had previously vacated Mr. Avelica’s only other misdemeanor conviction on grounds of legal invalidity, for which Mr. Avelica also re-pled to a lesser vehicle code violation.
On Monday, CA Senate Leader Kevin de Leon hosted a press conference with former US Attorney General Eric Holder, and LAPD Chief Charlie Beck, and other Statewide Law Enforcement officials to express their support for the California values act (SB-54).
The passage of Senate Bill 4 in Texas has set a new precedent for the prohibition of sanctuary cities and will open the door to the systematic targeting, profiling, and harassment of all Texans by Trump-inspired law enforcement. Since its passage, organizations and advocacy groups from around the country have been ramping up efforts to challenge its constitutional standing and prepare local communities from around the state for increased enforcement and to defend themselves from violations of their rights. On Monday, seasoned activists from the fight against Arizona’s SB1070 joined Texas community leaders and organizations to launch the “Summer of Resistance” against SB4.