SAN JUAN — Yenniffer England, a certified nursing assistant, mother of two, and recipient of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, was detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in February following a traffic stop for driving with an expired license. She spent three months in an immigration detention center despite her protected status.

England was released by a federal judge and is now appealing her case while wearing an ankle monitor. Her attorneys and advocates said the traffic stop should have resulted in no more than a routine traffic violation because she was a DACA recipient with active status.

England is a member of La Union Del Pueblo Entero (LUPE), a nonprofit organization serving immigrants and low-income communities in the Rio Grande Valley. According to LUPE president and executive director Tania Chavez Camacho, four LUPE members have been detained or deported by ICE, and more than 20 have had their DACA status lapse due to application processing delays.

LUPE, which has more than 8,000 members including U.S. citizens, legal permanent residents, and undocumented immigrants, provides cash assistance to members whose DACA status has lapsed so they can buy groceries, as they can no longer work legally. The organization holds information sessions, rallies, demonstrations, and addresses lawmakers at city hall and the state house on policy issues.

Chavez Camacho said increased collaboration between the Texas Department of Public Safety and federal immigration officials has made people nervous. She also said she has witnessed increased immigration enforcement at airports. "We are experiencing a different Rio Grande Valley."

She added, "We continue to do the work but we can only continue to do the work if the community continues to show up."

U.S. Senator Alex Padilla, a Democrat from California and ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration, Citizenship and Border Safety, held a closed-door roundtable discussion with LUPE members about immigration enforcement impacts. Padilla said, "There has to be a better way."

Chavez Camacho called for congressional action, stating, "DHS does not need more funding, what we need is solutions and congressional action to ensure that DACA recipients and other immigrants get relief from deportation."