EL PASO, Texas (Border Report) – Catalina “Xochitl” Santiago’s colleagues and supporters have spent the past three weeks collecting signatures and holding rallies across the country urging the Trump administration to release the immigration activist from detention in Texas.
On Thursday, her legal team expressed cautious optimism that an immigration judge on September 10 will rule favorably on a motion to terminate her deportation proceedings. This, as loved ones worry Santiago’s mental health is deteriorating as her detention in a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in El Paso drags on.
“I think some of the biggest concerns for her physical well-being is that she’s not able to sleep well on top of the fact the lights are always on inside the facility,” said Desiree Miller, Santiago’s spouse. “She says that the guards talk very loudly throughout the night most nights. It’s a very bright and loud environment that she is in pretty much 24-7, which is not only damaging to her sleep but to her overall mental and emotional well-being.”
Border Patrol agents detained Santiago at El Paso International Airport last August 3 alleging she was a criminal alien and would be placed in deportation proceedings. Department of Homeland Security officials cited past charges of trespassing, possession of narcotics and drug paraphernalia.
She was taken into custody despite having a valid work permit as a recipient of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA.
“Illegal aliens who claim to be recipients of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) are not automatically protected from deportations. DACA does not confer any form of legal status in this country,” U.S. Customs and Border Protection told Border Report in an email this month. “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.”
Attorney Luis Cortes on Thursday said the trespassing charge stems from Santiago’s activism, which he characterized as non-violent civil resistance. But he said the Arizona drug charges were based on “suspicion” and she was never prosecuted for that.
“Detaining Xochitl despite her DACA protections tells everyone here that you are not safe no matter what promises the U.S. government made you,” Cortes said in a Zoom call. “In Xochitl’s case, we have an individual who didn’t do anything wrong. She was taking a domestic flight, which she is allowed to do.”
Border Report reached out to ICE for comment and is awaiting a response.
In 2022, ICE announced policies to strengthen protections for detained immigrants with serous mental disorders or conditions.
“ICE continues its efforts to implement policies and directives that support a fair, orderly and humane immigration system,” former ICE Acting Director Tae D. Johnson said at the time. The directive strengthened guidelines regarding the identification and treatment of detainees with serious mental issues including treatment, transfer or safe release.
‘A role model for many’
Catalina Santiago and her siblings were brought from Mexico to the United States when they were children by their parents. They grew up in Florida, said her brother, Jose.
“We spent most of our lives here growing up in Southern Florida, adapting to different things thrown as us as young immigrant children,” Jose said. “She has been very inspiring as a role model for many of us.”
He described how she took care of children for neighbors, interpreted English for Spanish-speakers in the community and was friendly to others around her. “A lot of people benefited from her generosity,” he added.
Later, Santiago took to activism on behalf of DACA recipients like her and other immigrants.
Activist Christine Miranda said that community engagement was not lost on the 12,000 people who have signed an online petition for the government to release her, nor on those who have donated $82,000 for her legal fees.
She said rallies and vigils on behalf of Santiago have been held from Seattle to Boston, from Tempe, Ariz., to El Paso.
Miller, who said she married Santiago earlier this year, praised her partner’s dedication to community work and lamented her confinement, including 24-7 camera surveillance, toilets without doors and tablets that allegedly constantly drop calls to detainees.
“They put up the show that they’re allowing us to communicate with loved ones, that these are humane conditions, when really there are these bureaucratic hurdles that we have go through to try to see our loved ones … in a situation she should not have been put into in the first place,” Miller said.
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