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Mexico "concerned" over arrest of Mexican immigrant "Dreamer"

Xinhua, February 16, 2017 Adjust font size:

Mexico on Wednesday said it was "concerned" by the arrest of a young undocumented Mexican immigrant in the United States, who was granted immunity from deportation by the Obama administration.

Daniel Ramirez Medina, 23, is one of some 750,000 children of undocumented Mexican immigrants, who former U.S. President Barack Obama sheltered under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program.

A member of the so-called "Dreamers" who were allowed to stay, study and work in the U.S., at least temporarily, Ramirez was nevertheless arrested in an immigration sweep last week in Seattle, Washington state.

News of his detention only emerged after lawyers challenged his detention at a federal court in Seattle on Monday, saying Ramirez was given a working permit and authorized to work, and thus reside, in the U.S.

"We are concerned because they are youngsters with proper legal status that, while temporary, are still valid," Carlos Sada, the undersecretary for North America at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said in a radio interview with Grupo Formula.

"In Daniel's case, he not only got his DACA permit once, but he also renewed it in 2016, and these types of actions bring a lot of pressure to bear and a lot of nervousness and anxiety among the large community of DACA boys and girls," Sada added.

Under Obama's successor, Donald Trump, the U.S. has cracked down on illegal immigration, though the DACA program remains in place.

U.S. immigration officials were reportedly after Ramirez's father, but ended up arresting both.

According to U.S. media reports, Ramirez confessed to belonging to a gang when officials questioned him during the raid.

Ramirez is expected to have a court hearing on Friday. Enditem