"In August, days before Benjamin was set to start his senior year at Reseda Charter High School, masked agents surrounded him as he walked his family's puppy, Athena. He said they did not identify themselves. He was still wearing what he slept in - black shorts and a T-shirt - when the agents arrested him, he told The Times in his first interview with a news outlet since his ordeal began."
"Tricia McLaughlin, a spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security, said that Benjamin, a Chilean national, overstayed his visa by more than two years. She said Border Patrol agents arrested Benjamin and placed him into the custody of Immigration and Customs Enforcement pending removal. The teenager had fled his home country to seek asylum in the U.S. because of threats of violence, according to the Immigrant Defenders Law Center, which is representing Benjamin in his immigration case and argued for his release in federal court."
Benjamin Guerrero Cruz, an 18-year-old Chilean who fled threats of violence to seek asylum, was arrested in August while walking his family's puppy. Masked agents who did not identify themselves handcuffed him while he wore black shorts and a T-shirt, then he was placed in ICE detention in San Bernardino County. Officials say he overstayed his visa by more than two years and was transferred to ICE pending removal. The Immigrant Defenders Law Center represents him and urged his release. Community members and teachers raised tens of thousands of dollars and demanded his release; he is among over 10,000 undocumented immigrants arrested in the L.A. area since June.
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