U.S. immigration authorities released 11 undocumented immigrants from detention on Tuesday who had crossed into the United States through a legal port of entry to protest deportations, activists say.
The release of the members from the group known as “Dream 30” came the same day as Immigration and Customs Enforcement deported 23-year-old Rocio Hernandez Perez, a Mexican national who participated in last month’s protest, according to the Associated Press.
It was not clear by Wednesday morning on what grounds they had been released. All had applied for both humanitarian parole and asylum. Humanitarian parole is a little-used form of discretion to accommodate emergencies that allows U.S. immigration authorities to admit someone otherwise ineligible to enter the country.
Activists say another six of the detained protesters may be released Wednesday. Another seven cases remain uncertain until they appear before a judge.
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Some 30 people who had lived part of their lives as undocumented immigrants in the United States met in Nuevo Laredo, Mexico last month to cross the border through a legal port of entry as a unique form of protest against U.S. immigration policy. The activists adopted the name “Dream 30,” though they picked up four more participants along the way.
It was the second time the National Immigrant Youth Alliance had staged such a protest. In July, three undocumented immigrants -- Lizbeth Mateo, Marcos Saavedra and Lula Martinez -- traveled to Mexico and crossed the border through the port of entry at Nogales, Arizona. They became known as the “Dream 9.” All were released while their asylum claims make their way through the courts.