Dreamer Jessica Colotl—whose controversial 2010 arrest for a traffic violation and subsequent near-deportation turned her into a leader of the immigrant rights movement—has taken the Trump administration to federal court, after immigration officials “suddenly and arbitrarily” revoked her DACA status and rejected her renewal application, despite the fact that she has been accepted twice into the program under the Obama administration. To add insult to injury, immigration officials have lied during their attempt to leave her at risk of deportation:
"Jessica Colotl, an unlawfully present Mexican national, admitted guilt to a felony charge in August 2011 of making a false statement to law enforcement. ... Under federal law her guilty plea is considered a felony conviction for immigration purposes," Immigration and Customs Enforcement said last month.
But in court this past week, “government attorneys admitted ... that Colotl hadn't pleaded guilty” at all following her 2010 arrest. In fact, the charge against Jessica was dismissed.
Jessica, then a student at Kennesaw State University, was arrested for driving without a license and was held in detention for 37 days, before media attention and a national outpouring of support led to her release.
In an op-ed earlier this month, Jessica explained the circumstances behind the allegation that she intentionally lied to police:
After my release, a reporter tried to contact me at the home address a police officer had copied from my ID card during my arrest, but while I was in detention, my parents had moved to a new place in Atlanta out of fear they’d be arrested too. The local sheriff got wind of this and apparently assumed I had given law enforcement a fake address, and nine days after I was released, he charged me with a felony: giving false information to a police officer. Even though I hadn’t done anything wrong, and I pleaded not guilty, I wound up doing community service in a diversion program and the charge was dismissed.
DACA applicants undergo a background check in order to be accepted into the program, so the Obama-era government knew about Jessica’s arrest and dismissed charge and still found no cause to deny her initial application and subsequent renewal.
But as advocates have been warning, the Trump administration has been taking dirty steps to target Dreamers, despite his recent words that they should “rest easy”:
ICE told honor roll student Sthefany Flores, a North Carolina Dreamer with active DACA status and no criminal record, to prepare for deportation in what turned out to be the government’s own screw-up. Last month, Seattle Dreamer Daniel Medina was released after six weeks in custody, despite having no criminal record and active DACA. Officials again lied and falsely claimed he had gang affiliations. Around the same time, Mississippi Dreamer Daniela Vargas was arrested by ICE after participating in a press conference denouncing deportations. “None of these trends make Dreamers feel safe,” notes Planas.
Jessica, now working as a paralegal at an immigration law firm in hopes of one day becoming an immigration attorney, said she was “devastated” by the recent decision from immigration officials, but felt “hopeful” after the court proceedings.
"I just want to go back to having a normal life, go back to having a job, driving and doing the daily things I normally do,” Jessica said. She also told Spanish-language network Telemundo that she believes ICE is trying to make “an example” of her in order to frighten other Dreamers.
”The government couldn’t provide an actual reason for why Jessica’s DACA was revoked and reaffirmed that there have been no changes to the DACA program,” said the ACLU. “The facts haven’t changed and Jessica is still the same individual who has contributed so much to this country. We are hopeful coming out of today’s hearing that Jessica’s DACA will be restored while the government gives her application the fair review it deserves.”
From Jessica’s op-ed: “We do know there are hundreds of thousands of other young Americans who, like me, have stories of struggling parents who came to this country because of the hope it offered. If we are deported, who benefits? Is our country really the better for it?”