Cold As ICE: Agents Arrest Undocumented El Paso Woman As She Seeks Protective Order Against Abuser

AUSTIN, TX — Since the U.S. Immigration Customs and Enforcement agency launched its crackdown on undocumented immigrants across the country, agonizing stories of unexpected detention by agents in what would've been just another day chillingly turned on its head have emerged nationwide. An alarming case in El Paso, Texas, however, may beat them all.

Six ICE agents descended on an El Paso county courthouse last week to arrest an undocumented woman who had just received an order for protection against domestic violence from her alleged abuser, the El Paso Times reported. The incident occurred on Feb. 9 when ICE agents acted on a tip about her whereabouts believed to have come from the woman's alleged abuser, who already was in custody himself, the county attorney told the newspaper.

The case has alarmed officials who fear that undocumented victims of domestic abuse might now opt to stay with their abusers for fear of having their citizenship status discovered and being set up for deportation.

In a prepared statement emailed to Patch late Thursday, Mimi Marziani, executive director of the Texas Civil Rights Project, condemned the action.

"Everyone should feel safe to seek help from the courts when they are suffering domestic violence, regardless of their immigration status," Marziani said. "ICE’s action today is certain to make our communities less safe, as immigrant members of those communities will be less likely to report crimes against themselves and others."

Some defenders of the actions of ICE agents (including many commenting below) have made a point of noting the woman's past run-ins with the law as justification for her sudden detention. Others have pointed to the woman's transgender status, somehow able to extrapolate another measure of justification for her arrest.

Those decrying the action focus on how the detention was effected — in the midst of the woman seeking a protective order to safeguard her from domestic abuse — rather than focusing on her criminal history.

Regardless of a domestic abuse victim's own past record of legal transgressions, El Paso County Attorney Jo Anne Bernal told the newspaper in the wake of the woman's arrest that protective-order courts are no place for immigration detentions to take place.

“Our clients come to us at the lowest point in their lives,” said Bernal, whose office represents domestic abuse victims seeking court orders against their abusers. “Many of them are so frightened of coming to us because of possible immigration concerns."

Marziani was more blunt: "It’s an affront to human dignity and to justice."

The woman's alleged abuser, Mario Alberto De Avila, is behind bars on a charge of forgery of a financial document, according to a criminal complaint. A spokeswoman for ICE declined to discuss the case with the El Paso Times.

News of the ICE detention has spread far beyond Texas. Reacting to the story, Chelsea Clinton tweeted: "I need a thesaurus. What's another word for horrifying? Sick? Awful? Running out of adjectives these days that mean unconscionably terrible."

The detained woman is being held in the El Paso County Jail under a federal ICE detainer, Bernal told the paper.

Her arrest comes amid a national crackdown of undocumented immigrants as President Trump has called for increased deportations as part of his presidential agenda. In the Austin-San Antonio region, more than 50 undocumented immigrants so far have been detained region since the ICE sweeps were launched last week.

>>> Read the full story at El Paso Times

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