Victor Avila, a 66-year-old long-term U.S. green card holder who legally immigrated in 1967 and has held a green card since, was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), according to a GoFundMe. Avila was returning home visiting his son who is a member of the U.S. Airforce when he was detained.
Newsweek has reached out to ICE and to Kiwan & Chambers, the law firm Avila works for, for comment.
Why It Matters
President Donald Trump campaigned on a hardline immigration stance and pledged to carry out the largest mass deportation in U.S. history. The Trump administration said it deported around 100,000 illegal immigrants in the initial months of the presidency, and many individuals have been deported following Trump invoking the rarely used Alien Enemies Act of 1798, something which has been criticized and blocked by judges.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers, New York City Fugitive Operations Team, joined by ICE Acting Director Caleb Vitello, on January 28, 2025 in New York City.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement via Getty Images
ICE have been conducting raids around the country. Some of the subsequent arrests have been viewed as heavy handed, whole others have wrongly targeted people suspected of having no legal status in the U.S.
What To Know
Avila is a resident of San Diego, California and who works as a legal assistant for Kiwan & Chambers law firm representing injured workers, and has worked there for over a decade, according to the GoFundMe.
He is a father and a grandfather. His daughter, Carina Mejia spoke to KGTV San Diego, and told the outlet that in 2009, Mejia had been pulled over and arrested for a DUI and drug possession, and he ultimately served a few months in jail.
“Two misdemeanors. Served all his time, paid all he had to pay,” Meija said. “Since then, he’s been a good man, a hard worker. Hasn’t gotten into trouble, not one time. He’s dedicated himself to his family.”
The GoFundMe stated that Avila has now been transferred to an ICE detention center outside of Bakersfield.
A Reuters/Ipsos poll conducted June 11–12 which surveyed 1,136 Americans nationwide found that 52 percent of respondents (including one in five Democrats and nine in 10 Republicans) supported deportations of people in the country illegally.
49 percent of people in the poll said that Trump had gone too far with his arrests of immigrants, as opposed to 40 percent who said he had not.
What People Are Saying
A message on the GoFundMe for Victor Avila reads: “We are confident Victor has a strong case but it will be long road home.”
Carina Mejia speaking to KGTV San Diego: “I’ve visited him several times. There are days he’s hopeful, optimistic. Then there’s days he mentally prepares himself for the worst… I want my dad back. I want my dad home.”
What’s Next
Avila’s deportation hearing has been scheduled for July 15 at a Bakersfield-area ICE facility, with his family and legal team preparing a defense.
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