Portland "Dreamer" Released by Federal Immigration Officials on Monday

Francisco J. Rodriguez Dominguez, 25, who arrived in the U.S. at age 5, was enrolled in the Obama-era Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program.

Activists protest the arrest of Francisco J. Rodriguez Dominguez. (Emily Joan Greene)
By Corey Pein and Rachel Monahan

Under pressure from local advocates and elected officials, the U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement Agency on Monday released a "Dreamer" arrested at his Portland home.

Francisco J. Rodriguez Dominguez, 25, who arrived in the U.S. at age 5, in 2013 received protection under the Obama administration program for undocumented immigrants who came to the United States as children, Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals. Beneficiaries of the DACA program were nicknamed Dreamers in reference to a separate piece of immigration reform legislation, the DREAM Act.

Rodriguez Dominguez faced charges in December for a DUII charge but had entered a diversion program to clear his record. A criminal record would threaten his eligibility for the "Dreamer" program.

Rodriguez Dominguez was released on a bond while his immigration case is heard.

"We are thankful to everyone who called to ask ICE to release Francisco," says Mat dos Santos, legal director at the ACLU of Oregon, in statement. "The phone lines were jammed up all day yesterday and today. Yet again, people have shown that they reject the cruel policies of the Trump administration."

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokesperson Rose Richeson says the agency still views Rodriguez Dominguez as a threat.

"He was targeted for arrest based upon his guilty plea in December to a charge of driving under the influence of intoxicants, an offense ICE deems a threat to public safety," she says in statement. "Mr. Rodriguez was transferred to the Northwest Detention Center and will subsequently be released on bond today pending the outcome of removal proceedings before an immigration judge with the Department of Justice's Executive Office for Immigration Review."

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