A UC Berkeley student senator and six other illegal immigrant students arrested at a San Bernardino rally Tuesday were released from custody early Wednesday without triggering a hold from Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Friends were concerned the arrest of Cal political science student Ju Hong, 21, a graduate of Alameda High School, would trigger his deportation. Hong has lived in the East Bay since his family brought him here on a tourist visa from South Korea when he was 11.
Through the federal Secure Communities program, which has been implemented in all of California's counties, anyone arrested and booked in a county jail gets fingerprints sent to a federal database monitored by ICE agents.
ICE agents interviewed the students, but did not file detainers against them, ICE spokeswoman Virginia Kice said in an emailed statement.
"ICE is focused on sensible, effective immigration enforcement that focuses first on criminal aliens and others who pose a threat to public safety," Kice said.
Hong had traveled to San Bernardino Valley College on Tuesday for a "coming out" rally for undocumented students from across the state to share their stories.
College officials said the rally went smoothly until the protesters left the campus grounds and interrupted traffic on Mt. Vernon Avenue, a multilane thoroughfare adjacent to the college.
Hours after his release, Hong said he was exhausted but was happy to have received
dozens of supportive calls and email messages from students around the country.
He and the other students will have to return to San Bernardino to face a hearing on the misdemeanor charges in September, he said. He said an immigration agent also told them in jail that, although they were being released, they would likely get a letter in the mail ordering them to come to an immigration court hearing, meaning they remain at risk of getting deported.
Hong said he had no regrets about getting arrested. He chose to go to the Southern California college after hearing about local youths who had been placed in deportation hearings for minor violations, such as riding a bicycle without headlights, and he wanted to put an Asian face to a contentious debate that often is focused on Latinos.
"I had really long, long thoughts about this," Hong said. "I talked to legal attorneys, mentors, whatnot. I felt like it was the right time for me to do this. There are so many injustices going on in immigrant communities."
The other arrested students attended Pasadena City College, Los Angeles Harbor College, Cal State San Bernardino and East Los Angeles College, said protester Javier Hernandez.
