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WASHINGTON – The Venezuelan couple was arrested this week by federal immigration agents and charged with misdemeanor illegal entry more than two years after their arrival at the US southern border.
The timing of the arrests and charges is unusual, reflecting the Trump administration’s increasingly aggressive immigration tactics. The couple were granted temporary protection from deportation while their claims of asylum were awarded.
The couple’s supporters say it was the first time they had seen such an incident, in which the immigrants were charged with illegal entry long after the fact. They say the lawsuit could set legal precedents and could affect thousands of other immigrants who have illegally entered the United States but are granted legal protection. Because those people are registered with the federal government, their whereabouts are known to the authorities.
The couple (27-year-old Cesar and 34-year-old Noria) were asked to identify the intermediate letters, fearing their influence from the Venezuelan government and concerns over pending claims.
“This is worse than dictatorship,” said Cesar’s father, Gregorio, 51. “if [Cesar] He should pay for it because he made an error. However, this case is unfair. ”
Cesar and Norelia are held by the US former s service in Washington, DC.
Cesar and Noria fled Venezuela along with Gregorio and the other extended family. Gregorio said they were persecuted for support of Venezuela’s opposition. Gregorio worked as a security guard for members of the opposition. Cesar was in the army and wanted to stop, but he was afraid of being imprisoned.
The family planning asylum crossed the Rio Grande and passed through Central America and Mexico before reaching the US border in 2022.
All of the family members have temporary protected status and pending asylum applications, Gregorio said. Temporary protected status allows people to legally reside and work in the United States when faced with conditions such as war or environmental disasters.
Seeking asylum is a legal right under federal and international law, regardless of how someone arrives in the soil of the United States. However, the Trump administration launched a massive deportation campaign, with certain immigrants stripping of legal protections along the way.
The couple and their three children, ages 12, 9 and 4, settled in southeastern Washington, DC, where they found work delivering food and doing household chores.
On Monday, they were returning from work around 1:30pm when customs and border security agents arrested them in an unmarked grey SUV.
In the video of the scene shot by his eldest son, when an agent rests Cesar and places him in an SUV, children crying with bare dogs can be heard in the background.
“We did nothing!” cried the boy in English.
One of the agents spoke to the family in Spanish, adding that there was an order to arrest him.
The children were not taken into custody and were allowed to be with Noria’s sister, who was at home at the time.
“thank god [the extended family] Gregorio said. “Imagine those kids letting go. They separate you from your family for no reason.”
The criminal charges against the couple were filed on February 27th in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas, according to the documents. The complaint states that on October 13, 2022, Cesar and Norella deliberately entered the US, saying “it is about 1.22 miles west of the port of Paso del Norte.”
An occasional search of court records did not find any other criminal charges related to Cesar and Noreria.
Living in the United States without a legal status is a civil crime, not a crime. However, inappropriate entry is the Criminal Act under the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952. Convicted persons may be fined or imprisoned for six months. Any subsequent crimes are felony and could result in two years of prison time.
Thousands of children were separated from their parents at the tropical border as the first Trump administration relied on the law to implement a “zero tolerance” policy. The parents were charged with illegal entry and detained after entering the United States, but the children were placed separately in federal custody and foster parents.
Amy Fisher, director of refugees and immigration rights at Amnesty International, who supports the couple’s case, said she and other advocates have heard of several cases since Trump returned to the duties of people whose pending asylum claims or temporary legal protections were detained by immigration agents. Fisher said he expects more people to be seen as deported in the coming weeks and months.
However, Fisher said the Cesar and Noria incidents were unprecedented.
“Everyone is very concerned about this,” she said. “We really think it’s the first of this type of case.”
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