An immigrant who was picking up a friend was surrounded by agents from Immigration and Customs Control (ICE) when He was still in his car, who struggled to open the doors because he allegedly had a deportation order.
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“I looked at my doors and climbed the windows, and when they looked at that they began aggressively hitting my glass and my windows,” Octavio Marínez said that thanks to the knowledge of his rights he was able to remain calm and confront the agents in a peaceful manner.
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The arrest attempt occurred in a neighborhood of Santa Ana, in the south of California. When he was surrounded, Octavio began recording with his cell phone while asking to be shown the deportation order and, in addition, he contacted an immigration lawyer.
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“Just show me the paper signed by the judge,” Octavio asked ICE agents who also told them “I want to see the paper, I’m going to take a picture and I’m going to send it to my lawyer”. ICE agents remained at the scene persuading him to get out of the car, until finally they decided to get away.
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Chirla’s “Know your rights” program coordinator, Antonio Bernabé, said he applauds the way Octavio acted in this case. “These are difficult and confusing moments and he showed a lot of calm, and above all he reviewed the documents carefully”said Barnabas.
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In addition, the fact that the car was parked was important. “If the car had been in motion they (ICE agents) could have argued that the person was going to escape and then it would have been a different story,” Barnabas said.
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Octavio Martínez says he experienced moments of anguish, but thanks to the information he had received on how to act in the event of an arrest by ICE agents, he was able to avoid his arrest. For more information on what rights you have as an immigrant you can call 1-800-624-4752.
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