Hernández Pérez, A DREAM 30 Member Deported to Mexico

Rocio Hernández Pérez

Pérez was deported to Mexico City on Tuesday morning while twelve were released just after 7:00 p.m.

By H. Nelson Goodson

October 30, 2013

El Paso, Texas - On Tuesday, the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) removed Rocio Hernández Pérez, 23, from the U.S. She was flown to Mexico City in the morning and released. Pérez is originally from Veracruz. 

She was taken into custody by ICE on September 30 at the Laredo, Texas border crossing and ICE checkpoint. Pérez was among 34 undocumented immigrants who decided to voluntarily return to Mexico and then attempt to reenter the U.S. and ask for asylum. Their attempt to reenter the U.S. failed and they were transferred to an El Paso ICE processing detention center for deportation proceedings. Nine were later released by ICE.
Only 25 of the DREAM 30 filed for asylum under "credible fear" including Pérez who was brought to the U.S. when she was four and lived in North Carolina. ICE denied her asylum claim and was ordered by an immigration judge to be removed. ICE would not release any information why Pérez was denied asylum.

So far, ICE has approved 17 of the DREAM 30 members and seven have been denied asylum including Pérez. The rest of the DREAM 30 group are waiting the same fate, the 13 left in detention continued with their hunger strike. ICE attempted to order doctors at the facility to force feed them, but doctors have refused ICE's request, according to family members.

Pérez and the rest of the group were protesting the broken national immigration system and were demanding immigration reform.

The following twelve members of the DREAM 30 were released just after 7:00 p.m.on Tuesday. They were identified as Raul Juarez of New York; Edna Flores of Arizona; Israel Rodriguez of North Carolina; Giselle Gomez of South Carolina; Jesus Gutierrez of Pennsylvania; Marco Pacheco of Texas; Leonardo Contreras of New York; Pablo Vivas of California; Lorena Vargas of Arizona, Marcela Espinoza of Illinois; Sandra Paloma of California and Vidal Francisco of Arizona.

Also Erika Isaura Guzman Mata was facing deportation after she was denied asylum as Pérez, but an immigration judge overturned that decision and is awaiting her release.