Supporters Call on Trump Administration Not to Deport SF City Worker

Dozens of people rallied Tuesday in downtown San Francisco to urge immigration authorities not to deport a 23-year-old UC Berkeley graduate who works with the city’s Office of Civic Engagement and Immigrant Affairs.

Supporters called on the Trump administration to drop deportation proceedings against Valeria Suarez Rojas, an asylum-seeker from Peru, using an authority known as prosecutorial discretion.

Suarez Rojas, who identifies as gender non-binary and uses the pronouns "they/them," fears persecution if sent back to Peru, where they said LGBTQ people face violence and discrimination.

“I found refuge in my community. I found refuge in other queer migrant folks that show me what home looks like,” Suarez Rojas said into a megaphone with trembling hands. “And the Department of Homeland Security wants to rip that apart from me.”

Under the Trump administration, immigration authorities have used prosecutorial discretion in fewer cases than under previous administrations, but it remains an option for deportation relief, said Luis Angel Reyes Savalza, the attorney representing Suarez Rojas.

With the U.S. undocumented population estimated at more than 10 million, immigration officials lack the resources to prosecute every case they encounter and have the authority to dismiss or delay deportation proceedings when they see fit.

People who have long-standing ties to a community, relatives who are U.S. citizens and other characteristics that merit remaining in the country may be granted favorable discretion, according to the nonprofit American Immigration Council.

Suarez Rojas, who arrived in the U.S. with a tourist visa at age 16, pursued a degree in social welfare at UC Berkeley and recently graduated. Their mother and brother are lawful permanent residents in the U.S.

In 2017, Suarez Rojas became a fellow at Dream SF, a leadership and professional development program with the San Francisco Office of Civic Engagement and Immigrant Affairs. They now work as a consultant and coordinator with the program.

Suarez Rojas also blossomed into a leader in the immigrant community, promoting sanctuary policies and participating in campaigns to stop the deportations of others, said Reyes Savalza, an immigration attorney with Pangea Legal Services in San Jose.

“Valeria is an exceptional person who has been fighting for the community for years,” he said. “And it's for this reason that Valeria has countless letters from professors, elected officials.”

Among those who wrote in support of Suarez Rojas is UC President Janet Napolitano, also a former secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees immigration enforcement. Napolitano urged the DHS to reconsider deportation efforts against Suarez Rojas, according to a petition for prosecutorial discretion Reyes Savalza submitted on Tuesday.

“Valeria deserves our utmost support,” wrote Napolitano. “Valeria has excelled at one of our country’s leading universities and is a valued member of our academic and alumni communities and the broader San Francisco Bay Area.”

An immigration judge at the San Francisco immigration court is currently considering the case and a hearing will be held in June.

Suarez Rojas was arrested by U.S. Customs and Border Protection last June at the airport in San Juan, Puerto Rico, where they had traveled to celebrate their anticipated graduation from UC Berkeley.

When Suarez Rojas tried to board a flight back to the Bay Area, they could not provide a valid ID and their Peruvian passport had no valid U.S. visa, according to a CBP spokesperson.

But in her letter, Napolitano questioned the need for deportation proceedings in Suarez Rojas' case.

"Domestic travel by a student at a leading university should not have resulted in the Department placing Valeria in removal proceedings," Napolitano said.

Suarez Rojas said CBP officers pressured them to sign a deportation order, alluded they could be detained indefinitely at a detention center in Miami and initially refused to let them speak with an attorney.

Those tactics constitute a violation of Suarez Rojas’ constitutional rights and “tainted” the removal proceedings, said Savalza, who argues that’s another reason to dismiss the case.

DHS and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement did not immediately return requests for comment.

Reyes Savalza added that while Suarez Rojas was detained, their plight went viral, and thousands of people nationwide called on officials demanding their release. They were freed in less than 24 hours, he said.

During the rally, Suarez Rojas thanked supporters.

“The community taught me how to be free, the community freed me, and community will keep me free,” they said to cheers from those present.

Suarez Rojas called for immigration authorities to use prosecutorial discretion more frequently, particularly in the cases of other queer immigrants who are seeking refuge in the U.S.

“It's not just about one case,” Suarez Rojas said. “It's about defending every single person who's been put in a cage, who's been detained ... for the sake of fleeing violence specifically for their gender and sexuality.”

It was prosecutorial discretion that President Barack Obama invoked in 2012 to refrain from deporting young immigrants who signed up for his Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. Immigration officials under the Obama administration were encouraged to prioritize arresting and deporting non-citizens with criminal convictions or those who had recently crossed the border without inspection.

But President Trump significantly expanded immigration enforcement priorities, limited the use of prosecutorial discretion and took steps to end DACA, a legal fight now being reviewed by the U.S. Supreme Court.