Maru Mora-Villalpando: Anti-Ice Protests and Customs Enforcement

maru mora-villalpando: But in December, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement sent her a notice to appear in immigration court, according to Metro News. An officer's report in her case said she came to the agency's attention because she discussed her unlawful status in a newspaper interview last year. Dozens of supporters greeted Maru Mora-Villalpando, 47, as she arrived outside a downtown Seattle building for her first deportation hearing.A Mexico City native who overstayed a visa issued in 1996, Mora-Villalpando says she has had no convictions or contacts with police that might normally trigger deportation proceedings. The report also cited her extensive involvement with anti-ICE protests and Latino advocacy programs. An attorney for the Justice Department, Brent Campbell, told U.S. Immigration Judge Brett Parchert that the government would oppose that motion, and Parchert gave him until April 9 to file a written response.ICE has repeatedly denied targeting anyone for political reasons and called such allegations irresponsible, speculative and advocates around the country have cited other cases, including deportation proceedings against Eliseo Jurado, the husband of an immigrant activist in Boulder, Colorado, who sought sanctuary from deportation in a church, and Ravi Ragbir, a citizen of Trinidad and Tobago who leads the New Sanctuary Coalition of New York City. She cited that statement in a motion filed Monday arguing that the proceedings should be dismissed as a violation of her free-speech rights. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.