The 18-year-old female immigrant whose arrest 10 days earlier intensified confusion about how federal authorities are enforcing immigration law was released from jail Monday afternoon.
Tatiana Jaco-Alvarez was to be reunited with her family, with whom she will live in Searcy during her pending immigration court case as an unaccompanied migrant child.
Jaco-Alvarez's pastor and his wife on Monday made the 10-hour round-trip drive from Searcy to retrieve her from a Jena, La., detention center, family friend Maria Cardena said. The trip took longer than expected because the pastor was instructed to drive an additional four hours to and from a different federal site to post the $1,500 bond, Cardena said.
The trio were expected to arrive home about 10 p.m., after stopping off for a drink at Jaco-Alvarez's request.
"She said she wants some soda," Cardena said.
[U.S. immigration: Data visualization of selected immigration statistics, U.S. border map]
Jaco-Alvarez's arrest Jan. 27 was lawful but abnormal because she has not missed a hearing for her pending removal case and was not accused of committing a crime, immigration attorneys said.
As agencies interpret executive action by President Donald Trump into policy, it's not clear whether Jaco-Alvarez's arrest was an isolated shift from law-enforcement norms or indicative of how agencies might take action more broadly against unaccompanied migrant children, attorneys said.
Jaco-Alvarez, then 17, came to the U.S. in May 2016 in search of refuge from her native El Salvador, which is plagued by gangs and violence against women and children, said her mother, who moved to Arkansas eight years ago. Whether Jaco-Alvarez qualifies for asylum or other lawful status will be determined as part of her pending removal case.
The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette is not identifying Jaco-Alvarez's mother by name because she is not a lawful U.S. resident. Her mother has provided details that were otherwise unavailable.
Jaco-Alvarez is one of more than 930 unaccompanied children who were released to sponsors in Arkansas between October 2013 and December 2016, according to the most-current data from U.S. Health and Human Services. Nationally, nearly 154,000 unaccompanied migrant children have been placed with sponsors in that same span.
Authorities detained Jaco-Alvarez at an Immigration and Customs Enforcement office in Little Rock, where she reported after receiving a letter summoning her for an interview with a deportation officer.
A U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement public affairs officer said the agency would take no further action against Jaco-Alvarez before her pending removal proceedings are resolved.
"ICE is focused on smart, effective immigration enforcement that prioritizes the removal of criminal aliens and other individuals who pose a threat to national security, public safety and border security," said spokesman, Tom Byrd, of the agency's New Orleans field office, in a typed statement.
Byrd declined to answer specific questions about the case.
Before her arrest, Jaco-Alvarez was scheduled to next appear in court in March 2018.
As of Monday evening, Jaco-Alvarez planned to resume class at Searcy High School on Tuesday morning, Cardena said.
A Section on 02/07/2017