UC Berkeley community incensed at undocumented student’s detention by ICE

Last Wednesday, an undocumented University of California-Berkeley junior was transferred to Immigration and Customs Enforcement following four days in the custody of the Border Patrol.

Luis Mora is not a DACA student; he came to the US from Colombia and, according to his girlfriend Jaleen Udarbe, his visa expired “two to three years ago.”

According to The Daily Californian, Udarbe says Mora tried to get DACA status but was denied. Nevertheless, Mora did obtain an AB 540 plan which granted him California in-state tuition.

Berkeley spokesperson Janet Gilmore said the university is “looking into doing ‘everything’ possible to support and assist” Mora.

Support for the undocumented student took off on social media, led by the immigrant rights group RISE — Rising Immigrant Scholars through Education.

From the story:

“I’m hoping for Luis to be free — he shouldn’t be detained in the first place — (as well as) for the community at large to realize how large this is,” [RISE co-chair Valeria] Suárez said. “We should be fighting to liberate all people in detention, whether (they have) a degree or not.”

Since the campaign launched Tuesday night, the voicemail boxes for the phone numbers provided have been filled, Suárez said. She added that this recognition creates a sense of urgency for Mora to be released and shows that the public is paying attention to this case.

On Thursday night, Mora’s lawyer tweeted that U.S. Sens. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., and Kamala Harris, D-Calif., as well as U.S. Rep. Barbara Lee, D-Oakland, have reached out to ICE on behalf of Mora.

Although Mora was supposed to be transferred to an ICE detention center in 48 hours, the detention center was holding too many people, delaying Mora’s transfer until Wednesday evening.

ASUC Senator Juniperangelica Cordova-Goff, who has been voicing support for Mora via social media, said Mora’s treatment by the system has been “inhumane.”

“I am not shocked that any Black/brown person could find themselves locked behind bars … There is a dehumanization factor that is intertwined within the law and our people find themselves on the wrong side of those laws too often,” Cordova said in an email. “The massive attention being drawn makes sure those in power understand that we refuse to allow our people to be lost within the system — being lost is too familiar a reality for our community.”

He’s a bright young bilingual man who knows his rights and has plenty of resources at his disposal. He knows human rights violations when he sees them. He’s competent and intelligent. Keeping him detained at this facility just means he will start a revolution in there. #FreeLuis

— Prerna Lal (@prernaplal) January 4, 2018