Some of Alligator Alcatraz’s detainees are “dreamers,” like Edgar, who is among more than half a million beneficiaries of the Obama-era Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals policy, or DACA, the federal program that allowed undocumented immigrants brought to the U.S. as children to live and work in the country without fear of deportation.
Edgar arrived in the U.S. in 2001 when he was 13 years old, and today is the father of three U.S. citizens. In June, he was detained following a traffic stop and became one of the first detainees sent to “Alligator Alcatraz.”
As the Trump administration continues its immigration crackdown, the number of illegal crossings along the southern border last month reached a record low of about 4,600. At the same time, in June, there was a record-high number of migrants who were detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement — about 59,000.
“These are people who have committed a crime against the United States by entering this country illegally,” Sheahan said in an interview in Washington. Being undocumented is a civil violation of immigration law, not a criminal offense.
Edgar has since been transferred to another facility in Florida, and his family says they feel helpless.
“The fact that he’s being deprived of his freedom … that makes me feel like my hands are tied,” his mother said in Spanish.
He also said he had told arresting officers he was a DACA recipient and that his status was active.
“They (ICE) said DACA was canceled, that I would stand no chance in stay in the country,” he said.
“DACA does not confer any form of legal status in this country,” McLaughlin said. “Any illegal alien who is a DACA recipient may be subject to arrest and deportation for a number of reasons including if they’ve committed a crime.”
