Geoff Bennett:
Among the tens of thousands arrested in the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown are many convicted of violent crimes, but nearly three-quarters of those held by ICE have no criminal record. That’s according to TRAC Reports, a nonpartisan data gathering platform.
Amna Nawaz spoke recently with the family of a young — one young woman who has been detained by federal immigration officers in North Carolina.
Amna Nawaz:
Last month, 23-year-old Fatima Issela Velasquez-Antonio was arrested by Border Patrol at her worksite in Raleigh, North Carolina. This is the video showing that moment shot by a family friend.
Despite having a legal work permit and no criminal record, she remains in ICE custody in Lumpkin, Georgia, today. After both of her parents died, Fatima left Honduras at the age of 14, entering the U.S. as an unaccompanied minor and seeking asylum. Her family is choosing not to do interviews due to fears over their own immigration status.
But they have asked Gene Smith, her aunt’s boyfriend, to speak on their behalf. He joins us now.
Gene, welcome to the “NewsHour.” Thanks for joining us.
Gene Smith, Family Friend of Fatima Issela Velasquez-Antonio: It’s my pleasure. Thanks for having me.
Amna Nawaz:
So it’s been over a month now that Fatima has been held. When is the last time you or anyone in the family was able to talk with her? And what can you tell us about how she’s doing?
Gene Smith:
I was able to speak to her over the weekend. And she was in good spirits. I know she’s been in contact today with her boyfriend and other family members. And she’s just — she’s worried. She’s locked up. She’s confined and she wants to come home. She doesn’t really know her legal future and what’s going to happen tomorrow.
So she’s really concerned. And, for the most part, she’s worried about her family. She wants them to be happy and to know that she’s — she knows that they’re on her side and they’re praying for her. And she’s just supporting them, which is ironic since she’s the one that needs our support.
Amna Nawaz:
Let me ask you about the day that she was arrested back in November, because we have seen federal agents showing up at a number of worksites across the country in different places.
On the day that she went to work, was there any reason to think that the same thing would happen to Fatima?
Gene Smith:
No. Not on my side, no.
But, that morning, her aunt, which is my girlfriend, she owns a business. And she said, “Gene,” she said, “some of my employees can’t make it or can’t work today.”
I said: “Why not?”
They — she said they’re — they have a fear of getting arrested by ICE. And nonchalantly just blew it off, said, if — “You can’t let anyone dictate how you run your business.”
And then, a few hours later, five, six hours, she gets a call that says Fatima’s locked up. Now it just hits me broad right in the face. So I feel really, really ashamed and apologetic. And what she said to her family that day, she said, crying, she was locked up — not that day, but when they finally was able to talk to her, she told them, she said: “I’m glad it was me, not you.”
Amna Nawaz:
Knowing her as you do, why do you think she said that?
Gene Smith:
Because she’s a good kid and she loves her family. And if anyone could wear the brunt of this administration’s messed-up policies, I think she would be willing to take that bullet for her family.
Amna Nawaz:
Tell us a little bit more about her, so we know who we’re talking about here. As I mentioned, she came here when she was just 14. She’d lost both of her parents.
Gene Smith:
Yes.
Amna Nawaz:
Why did she come to the U.S.? And tell us about the life that she’s built in the years she’s been here.
Gene Smith:
Well, as you know, she lost her mom when she was around 12. I think her mom died of cancer. Her dad was murdered by gang members around the age of 14.
She sought asylum here in the United States to the only country that she felt secure in, and to her family, which resides in North Carolina. And since she’s been here — she came as an unaccompanied minor, as you said. She’s created a life for herself. She did exactly what the government asked her to do. She graduated from high school.
She got a valid work permit, Social Security card. She pays taxes. She had gainful employment. And she just bought a home with her boyfriend a few months ago. That is a heck of a feat at age 23. And so she’s just a good kid. She loves her family, her nieces and nephews, her cousins. And she just enjoys life.
She’s a blessing to be around. And I think, if anyone deserves a pass, it’s this young lady.
Amna Nawaz:
And I just want to be clear on this point, Gene. Our understanding is that she doesn’t have any criminal record. She does have a couple of traffic violations, which would be civil infractions, in the years. Is that correct?
And, if so, what is your understanding of why she was arrested and why she’s still being held?
Gene Smith:
That is correct. She has no criminal history whatsoever, other than minor traffic violations. ICE came to North Carolina under a sweep, starting Charlotte, and the next day they were in Wake County.
She got arrested in Cary. They interviewed her that day. I think the video shows that she has a valid work permit. That day, she grabbed the wrong one, but she does have a valid one. And they ruled that, because her paperwork was not correct right then, they’re going to detain her.
Since then, we have tried to get her released on bond. Unfortunately, the Trump administration has ruled that detainees can’t get a bond right now.
Amna Nawaz:
Gene, I have to ask you, because I know from your previous conversations with my colleague that you have supported, and I think — I understand you still support President Donald Trump, that you did vote for him.
This is someone who campaigned on mass deportations, who said anyone who is here illegally will be removed and deported. And though she is seeking asylum, Fatima did enter the country illegally. So I guess the question is, did you not expect that someone like her would be targeted by this administration?
Gene Smith:
I can’t fathom that his policies were targeted at someone such as her.
And, unfortunately for me and probably for a lot of Americans, we really don’t realize the extent of what the immigration and how that system is broken. And I didn’t. I certainly didn’t. Now that it’s hitting close to home, I see how broken that system is.
I did vote for Trump. And I still support Trump. I understand you need — we have a safe border, sure.
And I will reach out to Trump right now. President Trump, if you listen to this and then you see this, please release her. She is a good kid. I still support you. And I support your policies. I think our immigration system is flawed and it’s broken. And we need to fix that, because the only one that’s penalizing is young ladies such as her that deserve to be home with their family.
Amna Nawaz:
Gene, I just have to ask, in saying you support his policies, the administration will say, this is their policy. It is to arrest and deport anyone who is here without legal status.
What would you say to that?
Gene Smith:
I believe our law says that she’s not to be detained while her — she is waiting adjudication of her case. She came as a minor. She hasn’t committed a crime. She did everything the U.S. government asked of her.
And I don’t think that Trump meant for that to take place, for her to be deported. I do support his policies. I just don’t support this one.
Amna Nawaz:
Let me just put to you what the Department of Homeland Security shared with us when we asked them about her case.
They said in part that she admitted to officers that she was in the country illegally. They say: “All of her claims will be heard by a judge. She will receive full due process.” They also blame the Biden administration for using discretion to, they say, indefinitely delay many illegal aliens,” including her case.
They also say, Gene, that she has a choice to either leave voluntarily or be arrested and deported. Are you worried that she may end up deported back to Honduras?
Gene Smith:
I have faith in God, and I believe that God is in control. She’s not a flight risk. She’s not a danger to society. So I am hopeful that she will be granted her day in court and be released on bond, and so that she can remain with her family in the community during the adjudication process, so that she can become a United States citizen.
So I don’t think she will be deported. I hope and pray she does not. If she did get deported, that would be a travesty, in my opinion.
Amna Nawaz:
That is Gene Smith speaking on behalf of the family of Fatima Issela Velasquez-Antonio.
Gene, thank you for your time.
Gene Smith:
Thank you for yours. I appreciate you. Thank you for having me.
