PORTLAND, Ore. – A 21-year-old Portland “dreamer” who was renewing his Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) status is being detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Tacoma, Wash., according to the American Civil Liberties Union of Oregon.
Emmanuel Ayala Frutos was taken into custody by ICE officers at his North Portland home on Sunday without a warrant, the ACLU said.
The DACA policy grants two years of permission to work and protection from deportation to certain undocumented immigrants who came to the U.S. as children. Those immigrants are known as "dreamers."
Ayala Frutos is recovering from two broken legs after he was hit by a car while skateboarding in February, and immigrants’ rights groups say he has other health issues that may be ignored by ICE officials.
Sister of Emmanuel Ayala Frutos fights back tears as she talks about her brother's detainment by ICE pic.twitter.com/R5gTyhCeCU
— Mike Benner (@MikeBennerKGW) March 29, 2017
“Emmanuel is in pain and at serious risk of injury,” said Ian Philabaum, an immigrant rights advocate at Innovation Law Lab. “ICE showed up early Sunday morning, without a warrant, and tricked a struggling young man from his home by telling him they were going to talk about this DACA status.”
Ayala Frutos entered a plea for a weapons charge in Clark County for possessing and showing a butterfly knife in November, the ACLU said.
“The judge found that because of the circumstances of the incident and because it was his sole offense, he was not a danger to the community,” said Sarah Armstrong with the ACLU of Oregon. “He has since completed an anger management program, attended all his court dates and required meetings.”
Ayala Frutos has lived in Portland since the age of six.
His family told the ACLU they are fearful that if he is deported, he will be kidnapped and ransomed. His cousin was murdered and one of his uncles routinely receives death threats, they said.
Another Portland "dreamer," Francisco J. Rodriguez Dominguez, was detained at his Portland home Sunday, but he was released Monday night following public outcry.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.