‘It should be very concerning to everyone,’ says partner of detained DACA recipient

Amna Nawaz:

As the Trump administration continues to pledge to target the worst of the worst criminals in its immigration crackdown, many others are getting caught up in that crackdown.

Last month, 28-year-old community organizer Catalina "Xochitl" Santiago was detained by Customs and Border Protection. Despite living legally in the U.S. for years under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, or DACA, she remains in ICE detention in Texas today.

I spoke with her wife, Desiree Miller, a few days ago.

Desiree Miller, welcome to the "News Hour." Thank you for joining us.

Desiree Miller, Wife of Catalina "Xochitl" Santiago: Hi. Thank you for having me.

Amna Nawaz:

So, your wife, Xochitl, is currently in ICE detention. She's been there since she was detained back on August 3. What can you tell us about where she is, about what you know about the conditions inside, and also how she's doing?

Desiree Miller:

Yes, thank you for that question.

I'm able to speak to her every day. So, we usually talk every morning. And, obviously, there's some really concerning things that she's told me about the conditions inside of the detention.

I think some of the main ones are that people don't receive the medical attention that they need. In particular, there are some pregnant women who don't get medical attention. And a lot of the times, when people ask for medical attention, they're just given water. The water smells weird in there. They have been given food multiple times that it's either expired or makes people sick.

There's a lot of talk about whether or not the conditions are humane or not, but I think that there's no way to make that situation humane when you have ripped someone away from their family.

All of these things that they do to make it seem as if it's humane, letting people talk to their families, having video calls and having these — quote, unquote — "mental health checkups," I think that no mental health checkup is going to make up for the amount of trauma that has been inflicted by being ripped away from their families and trying and having my wife and other people — trying to deport them without cause.

Amna Nawaz:

I mean, you two have been separated for weeks now. What has that been like?

Desiree Miller:

It's a really difficult experience.

I think that knowing also that a lot of times the conditions that she's in, that she's not able to sleep well because they have the lights on all night and the guards are very loud and walk very loudly throughout the whole night, so that they're not able to sleep, it's really hard for me to be out here trying to go about my day, because I still have to take care of her stuff and I still have to work while I'm also trying to just live with this fact that she's in their suffering.

Amna Nawaz:

Take us back if you can, Desiree. She was detained before boarding a domestic flight. She was approached by someone wearing a Border Patrol uniform in the airport. There is this video of that moment when the officer seems to be checking her identification.

Man:

I'm asking some immigration documents here.

Amna Nawaz:

Where did the video come from? And just tell us about that moment. What happened?

Desiree Miller:

On that day, August 3, she sent me a video of that officer questioning her, the one that is now all over social media, and told me that they had taken her DACA card and were refusing to give it back.

So, after that, I was obviously very concerned. I was texting her and calling her, and I didn't get any response after that. So, for several hours, I didn't know where she was, if something had happened to her, if everything was fine and she was just on the plane, until around 8:30.

One of our friends here received a call from her, and she let our friend know where she was being detained. And that's how we found out where she was at.

Amna Nawaz:

We should underscore here, she's 28 years old. She has valid DACA status, right? She's renewed that several times over the years, which does require verification and background checks and the like.

We did ask DHS about her case. They gave us a statement in which they called her a criminal illegal alien and they also said this in part — quote — "Her criminal history includes charges for trespassing, possession of narcotics and drug paraphernalia. She will remain in ICE custody pending her removal proceedings."

So, Desiree, I just want to get your response to that. And, also, is it your understanding that these charges that they reference in the statement, that is the basis for her arrest and potential deportation?

Desiree Miller:

So, DHS in that statement and since then has blatantly lied to try and justify the fact that they are detaining her unlawfully. Her legal team has confirmed multiple times that she has not been convicted of any crime that would cause her to lose her DACA status, nor are there any pending criminal charges against her.

She to this day holds a valid work permit that allows her to work and travel within the United States legally. So, DHS and I don't have any legal basis for why they detained her, why they are holding her or why they are trying to initiate deportation proceedings.

And I think it should be very concerning to everyone that ICE is knowingly holding someone who has protection from deportation under DACA and is claiming that their DACA status doesn't matter.

Amna Nawaz:

You know, the administration, as you have probably seen regularly, puts out information about who they're taking into immigration custody, who they're working to deport. Violent criminals are usually who they highlight in those messages.

And there are absolutely violent convicted criminals among those they're working to deport. That they continuously say that they are working and targeting the worst of the worst, what does that mean to you? What's your reaction to that?

Desiree Miller:

There's a lot. There's a lot of — a lot going on inside me to hear that.

Xochitl is really an example of how they are using this language of calling people criminals, illegal aliens as a way to distract from what the reality is of what they're doing, which is that these are people who they are taking and detaining and trying to deport their people's wives, brothers, sisters, mothers, grandparents.

I think Xochitl is really an example of that, in that she has dedicated her entire life to improving her community in so many different ways, to — to protect people who have immigrated to this country. And now she works in our community.

Amna Nawaz:

It's also worth noting, Desiree, there's over 500,000 people with DACA status in the United States. That was obviously set up as a program that was meant to shield from deportation people who were brought to this country without documentation as children.

But the government's also said that DACA, they say, does not confer any form of legal status in this country. What do you think happens next for Xochitl?

Desiree Miller:

I'm definitely not an illegal expert. I'm just Xochitl's spouse, who's obviously trying to understand all of this that is national policy unfolding within our daily lives.

I think that we are fully anticipating her to come home to her family, to her community, where she belongs. I think it's horrible that my wife has been used as an example, but I hope that it helps bring light to the reality of what is happening and the dangers that we are facing in this administration.

Amna Nawaz:

Desiree Miller, thank you so much for joining us tonight. I really appreciate you making the time.

Desiree Miller:

Thank you.