Attorney General Peter F. Kilmartin issued the following statement regarding the detention of Lilian Calderon-Gordillo, who, while spared deportation while her case is being decided by the U.S. District Court, is still being detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE):
"Lilian came here when she was three years old and has known nothing but the United States as her country. Like many Dreamers, she was educated here, worked here, fell in love, got married and started a family. She tried to gain protective status under the DACA program, but was denied, seemingly for no legitimate reason. She was detained when she and her husband went to verify their marriage as part of her application to gain legal status.
While the Attorney General's Office has no jurisdiction over federal immigration matters, I call on ICE to reevaluate the case against Lillian, and others like her, release her to be with her husband and children, and allow her to proceed on the path towards citizenship. Ripping a family apart is not the solution to the stalled immigration policies in this country. It does, however, shine a bright light on the need for Washington to put politics aside and work to put forward and pass an immigration bill that gives Lilian and other Dreamers a real path towards citizenship."