Janelie Rodriguez's mother Jeannette holds a sign urging the release of Janelie as she speaks to press about her daughter,who has currently been detained by ICE on an immigration hold, during Mano Amiga's July press conference outside the Hays County Jail. Daily Record photo by Denise Cathey
Petition on behalf of Buda woman held by ICE
Janelie Rodriguez, a Hays County woman in Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody, is facing deportation, and local grassroots immigrant rights group Mano Amiga is working with her family to request her release.
Rodriguez, a 25-yearold Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals recipient, had a mental health episode in October 2017. Her family called the police and after they arrived, she was charged with biting an officer — a felony offense. Hays County court records show that she also faced two misdemeanor charges: evading arrest and resisting arrest. District Judge BIll Henry ordered a psychological report on Rodriguez and, after reviewing the report, dropped the felony charge against her. County Court-at-Law Judge David Glickler ordered Rodriguez released with time served for the misdemeanor charges. However, ICE put a detainer on Rodriguez and she remained in custody at the Hays County Jail until she was shipped to an ICE detention center in July. She is currently in Pearsall at the South Texas Detention Facility. Her family lives in Buda. She faces deportation to Mexico, a country she has not been to since she was 3 years old, Mano Amiga has said.
At a press conference outside the Hays County Jail in July, Rodriguez’s family pleaded for her release.
“My daughter is sick,” her mother Jeannette Rodriguez said.
“The police treated her like a criminal when she had psychological problems,” Janelie’s stepfather Delfino Vaca said.
Mano Amiga and Rodriguez’s family members have an online petition addressed to U.S. Rep. Will Hurd (R-TX), whose district includes the detention center where Rodriguez is being held, along with ICE representatives Dan Bible and Norma Lacy. The petition calls for Rodriguez’s release from ICE custody.
Mano Amiga calls on Hurd to join his colleague U.S. Rep. Lloyd Doggett (D-TX) in demanding Janelie’s urgent release.
“Thank you Mano Amiga for your advocacy for Janelie and her family,” Doggett said. “I do not believe that ICE is equipped to provide her the mental health treatment which she requires. And deporting her will certainly not help her get any treatment. She doesn’t need detention; she needs treatment to get well. I join Mano Amiga in requesting that Janelie be released and allowed to seek the care she needs.”
The petition can be found on the Action Network's website.
rblackburn@sanmarcosrecord.com
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