Grijalva calls for release of Tucson DACA recipient detained by ICE

Rep. Adelita Grijalva is calling the Trump administration to release a Tucson woman detained by immigration agents, saying she is protected by a federal program for undocumented people brought to the U.S. as children.

Federal agents took Karla Toledo into custody on Monday morning after forcing their way into her home without a warrant, according to reporting by the Arizona Daily Star, which obtained surveillance footage of the incident.

Toledo, 31, has lived in the U.S. since she she was 1 and did not have a criminal record, her parents told the Daily Star.

Grijalva, a Tucson Democrat, also said Toledo is a DACA recipient, referring to the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program started by former President Barack Obama to shield residents brought to the country as children from deportation.

Grijalva visited Toledo at an Immigrant and Customs Enforcement holding facility in Tucson.

“I’m calling on ICE to immediately release Karla, who was reportedly taken by federal agents from her home earlier today after they entered without a warrant,” Grijalva said in a statement. “ICE’s blatant disregard for the rule of law and due process is outrageous and completely out of line. We live in a country where everyone has constitutional rights, no matter how hard ICE tries to trample on them. Karla must be released immediately, and ICE must stop terrorizing our communities.”

Arizona Public Media reported the arrest is part of a larger pattern exhibited by the immigration officials under the Trump administration, who have argued DACA recipients are subject to deportation.

A DHS spokesperson accused Toledo of entering the United State from Mexico without authorization during the Biden administration and claimed she only had a "pending" DACA application. The agency also accused Toledo of assaulting an officer on Monday as they tried to detain a different person.

"Illegal aliens who claim to be recipients of DACA are not automatically protected from deportations," according to a DHS statement. "DACA does NOT confer any form of legal status in this country. Any illegal alien who is a DACA recipient may be subject to arrest and deportation for a number of reasons, including if they’ve committed a crime.”