Presente.org Denounces Obama Administration for Arresting the Mother & Brother of DREAMer & Presente Member, Erika Andio

Presente.org condemns in the strongest terms the arrest and detention of the mother and brother of DREAM act leader and Presente member, Erika Andiola, who had to watch as I.C.E. came to her house, handcuffed, and took them away. Her mother, Maria Minerva Guadalupe Arreola is a mother of 5, and her brother, Heriberto Andiola Arreola, is a father of 3.

“If this can happen to the family of Erika Andiola, a national leader of the immigrant rights movement and a member of the Presente family, it can happen to any immigrant family in the United States" said Arturo Carmona, Executive Director of Presente.org. "It is especially tragic and sadly ironic that the Obama Administration chose to arrest and try to deport Erika's beloved family members just as Erika and the millions of immigrants who recognize her as one of their leaders are preparing to advocate for a fundamental change in precisely the kind of failed policies that lead to arrests of innocent immigrants. What is the Obama Administration saying with this action? We condemn I.C.E. for abusing its authority to 'pay back' our friend and outspoken immigrant leader, Erika Andiola, for her immigrant rights activism by arresting and detaining her mother, Maria, and her brother, Heriberto. Presente joins the tens of thousands around the country who are and will be taking action to both stop the deportation of Erika's family and raise awareness of all that is wrong with immigration policy in the United States.”