ICE's top bosses halted deportation of criminally-convicted immigrant hours after activist who wants to abolish deportations and prisons emailed to complain that doing so would 'separate him from his family unfairly'
- Marvin Jerezano Pena, now 26, was brought to the U.S. from Mexico as a child
- He was arrested in New Jersey for robbery, simple assault and marijuana possession
- He has been in custody since December 2019 and was due for deportation
- On June 7 an activist with Freedom For Immigrants, Tania Mattos, wrote to ICE officials requesting a stay of deportation
- She said that his case was an example of immigrants being 'separated from their families unfairly'
- ICE officials agreed to halt the deportation proceedings and Jerezano Pena remains in custody in New York
Immigration authorities have postponed the deportation of a Mexican man convicted of marijuana possession, after an activist emailed officials to request a delay in his case.
Marvin Jerezano Pena, now 26, was brought to the U.S. as a child by his parents, and was registered under DACA - protecting him from deportation, provided he did not commit a crime.
Yet in 2015, he was arrested for 'robbery and simple assault' by police in New Jersey, before being convicted the following year of knowingly receiving stolen property.
In 2019, he was arrested for violation of parole and a failure to report. Other arrests were for marijuana possession - although it is now legal in his home state of New Jersey.
His ex-partner, Gaby, accused him of verbal and physical abuse, according to a report.
Marvin Jerezano Pena was due to be deported on June 8, but his deportation was delayed thanks to the efforts of activist. He remains in custody in New York
Tania Mattos, a policy director with Freedom For Immigrants, wrote to ICE officials on June 7 pleading Jerezano Pena's case
A judge ordered his deportation to Mexico in 2020, and an appeal was unsuccessful, according to the report.
On June 7 Tania Mattos, a policy director at Freedom for Immigrants, wrote to Angela Kelley, a senior immigration counselor at the Department of Homeland Security.
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Mattos' group states that it 'is devoted to abolishing immigration detention, while ending the isolation of people currently suffering in this profit-driven system.'
In their five point plan, they state: 'We know that the immigration detention system is built upon a long history of white supremacy, capitalism, and imperialism. It intentionally functions to dispossess marginalized communities and peoples of their homes and their histories.'
Emails obtained by Tucker Carlson's team on Fox News showed Mattos appealing for a stay of deportation, arguing his case as a former DACA recipient married to a U.S. citizen, with a two-year-old son.
Carlson on Tuesday night said it was outrageous that ICE were responding to activist requests
She said his case served as 'an example of how many immigrants who interact with the criminal justice system are separated from their families unfairly.'
Jerezano Pena was due to be deported on June 8, and activists held a vigil outside Bergen County Jail in protest, with 14 arrested.
Kelley forwarded the email as a 'time sensitive matter' to ICE chief of staff Timothy Perry, who requested a report on the subject. Hours later, officials sent back the report, which included his arrests and convictions in New Jersey.
The chief of staff then emailed the record to Tae Johnson, the acting ICE director, and said in the email that he had 'mentioned this on our call earlier.'
Tae Johnson, the acting director of ICE, agreed to Mattos's request to delay the deportation
Later that same day, Johnson emailed a number of officials asking: 'Can we grant a 14 day stay of removal on this case to provide time to gather additional details.'
'Will do,' responded Acting Executive Associate Director of ICE's Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) Corey Price.
Carlson said it was evidence that 'the Abolish ICE movement now has control over ICE.'
He said it was an embarrassing use of ICE's time and resources.
'This is what they are doing as the border has descended into total chaos,' he said.
'A hellish scene of human suffering, our country is being invaded by the rest of the world, not just Latin America, not just Mexico, the whole world and they are worried about how they can keep a felon in our country without you knowing about it.
'They're doing it based on a single email from an activist.'
He added: 'Can this be real?'
An ICE spokesman told Fox News that officers 'conduct custody reviews of noncitizens in detention in accordance with U.S. law and Department of Homeland Security (DHS) civil immigration enforcement priorities.'
A spokesperson continued: 'As a professional law enforcement agency, ICE has always considered requests, views and opinions from all stakeholders.
'ICE routinely works alongside local law enforcement agencies, community organizations, non-governmental organizations and other stakeholders to carry out its mission of safety and security.'
Mattos's group has not responded to DailyMail.com's request for comment.
Jerezano Pena remains in detention in New York, pending deportation.
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