Three jornaleros detained outside of a Pomona Home Depot had bond hearing Tuesday

Three of several jornaleros (day laborers) detained by Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents on April 22 from the parking lot of a Home Depot in Pomona had a bond hearing Tuesday morning. 

By noon, supporters and family members held a press conference demanding due process after learning that the ICE attorney said they don’t qualify for bond, claiming they have been here less than a year and requesting an expedited removal. 

The migrants, identified as Jesus Domingo Ros, Edwin Roberto Juarez Cobon and Yoni Ronaldo Jacinto Garcia, are from Guatemala and have been in the United States for more than two years. They are currently detained in the Imperial Regional Detention Facility in Calexico.

The judge didn’t make a decision and asked for evidence, moving the hearing to Friday. 

With protest signs and chants, pro-immigrant groups demanded their release at the press conference held in front of Pomona City Hall. They said there is a lack of transparency from ICE and it must be alleviated so that these three day laborers can receive their due process. 

The father of one of the immigrants attended the press conference asking for his son’s release. He identified himself as Bernardo and said he is Yoni’s father. He said his 21 year old son is a day laborer with no criminal record.

“I ask authorities to release them because they are not a danger,” said Bernardo advocating for all the detained jornaleros. “They are immigrants that are looking for work. Please release them.” 

Alexis Teodoro, workers’ rights director with Pomona Economic Opportunity Center (PEOC), said an immigration judge considers two factors to issue a bond hearing: that the detainee is not a flight risk and that the detainee is not a national security threat or a public safety risk. 

“These three individuals, these three hardworking day laborers, are neither a flight risk because they have committed to go to court once released, and they are not a national security threat, or a public safety threat, as they have no criminal record,” said Teodoro. “They were only outside the Home Depot exercising their constitutional right to look for work in a public space.”

Teodoro said they are members of the community and Domingo Ros is an active member with PEOC. 

Border Patrol cannot act above the law

Luis Nolasco, organizer with ACLU, said at the beginning of the year that they filed a lawsuit against the Department of Homeland Security, Customs and Border Protection and U.S. Border Patrol to prohibit them from stopping, arresting and summarily expelling community members from the country using practices that violate the U.S. Constitution and federal law. This was after immigration officers conducted the Operation Return to Sender where they deported about 40 immigrants from the Bakersfield area after stopping them based on their looks and the color of their skin. 

While the case has not test been resolved, on Tuesday the judge prohibited Border Patrol agents from acting above the law. 

“The ruling spelled it out simply: Border Patrol cannot stop people without reasonable suspicion that they are non-citizens and arrest people without a warrant if agents don't have probable cause to believe the person is likely to flee,” said Nolasco.

The organizer said it is up to each person supporting immigrants to show this administration that they won't sit idly while they carry out their mass deportation plans. 

“The court order reflects that no matter where you are, agencies cannot violate our rights, break the law and conduct unlawful seizures and arrests without legal justification,” he said.  

Organizing the community

Activists said the countless raids across the nation and policies attacking working class families are causing fear among the communities. 

Lizbeth Abeln, deputy director with the Inland Coalition for Immigrant Justice (IC4IJ), said they have been working with the immigrant community to teach them about their rights and also organizing them for direct action to show up at their legislator’s office and demand that they stand with immigrants. 

“Policies should be focused on care of relief and not on punishment. It's the complete opposite of what this administration is doing,” she said. “Immigrants contribute so much more than the economy. We contribute culture, we contribute food…We have built this country up, and now we are under attack.” 

Several elected officials are supporting the release of the immigrants including Congresswoman Norma Torres and Los Angeles County Supervisor Hilda Solis. 

The communities in the Inland Empire are encouraged to call the hotline to report ICE enforcement at (909) 361-4588.