U.S. congressman wrote a letter on his behalf
Rather than face court proceedings that would further disclose why an FBI counterterrorism investigation has targeted him, San Antonio DACA recipient Sergio “Mapache” Salazar chose to take deportation to Mexico instead. The Mexico-born Salazar was brought to the United States when he was two and has lived in San Antonio ever since, and received temporary legal status under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program.
As the Center for Immigration Studies reported here and again here, the San Antonio FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF) arrested the 18-year-old DACA recipient August 3 on an immigration charge, while he was protesting at an ICE facility. They did so after examining online postings allegedly threatening ICE agents and offering instructional videos on how to make bombs. At an August 22 hearing at which Salazar argued he should be released on a low bond, ICE attorneys were preparing to counter his argument with the release of 21 pages of the online postings. But when they saw the pages, Salazar’s attorneys for the immigration advocacy group RAICES abruptly withdrew the bond request, leaving the youth in custody as the FBI counterterrorism investigation continued.
At a follow-up hearing on Friday, September 14, Salazar agreed to deportation without a fight.