Deportation of Immigrant of the Day Armando Tejeda-Soto Halted
I am very happy to report that the government has decided to stop the deportation of Immigrant of the Day, Armando Tejeda-Soto!
When I first took Armando’s case, I was confident that we’d be able to get it closed. The Morton Memo had been issued just a few months earlier and there was a lot of optimism about what it would mean for non-citizens who had been here for many years and who were not enforcement priorities. Armando fit that bill perfectly. He had been here since he was a kid. He had graduated from high school. He furthers the arts in his community and volunteers his time with the elderly. He has tons of family living here lawfully. He doesn’t drink or smoke or do drugs. Armando would have been DREAM Act eligible had that law been passed.
As time went by, we started seeing the shockingly low number of cases that were getting closed. A few strong prosecutorial discretion requests I had submitted were bafflingly denied. I think a consensus was developing among immigration lawyers — who see wonderful people get deported from this country every single day — that the Morton Memo may have been nothing more than a ruse designed to get votes. I lost confidence that we’d be able to stop Armando’s deportation. In fact, my earliest prosecutorial discretion request in this case was directed at an ICE officer asking him not to put Armando into removal proceedings in the first place. The response: “We don’t cut anybody loose.” (Note to any policymakers who may be reading this – your guidance is not filtering all the way down). Armando had his first hearing before the Immigration Judge and ICE still didn’t have a decision. Opposing counsel then submitted evidence against Armando designed to show he was here without permission. Things were not looking good.
But, a few weeks ago and thanks to the hundreds of you out there who signed a petition for Armando, government lawyers decided to close Armando’s case. They couldn’t help but conclude that Armando had the backing of his community and that deporting him just does not make any sense. Armando’s case has now been formally closed by the Immigration Judge! What’s more, thanks to the recent DREAM announcement, Armando should be able to get deferred action and work authorization.
Armando and I thank all of you who helped. We also express our gratitude to the unnamed government lawyer in Centennial, Colorado who took the time to read about Armando and make the decision to close his case. You did the right thing. Hopefully, other deserving candidates will receive similar treatment.