The United States is Alejandra’s home.
She grew up in Arizona with her mother and brother, who are both U.S. citizens.
As a young person living in Arizona, Alejandra was arrested and convicted of several charges, including driving under the influence and possession of drug paraphernalia, some of which were felonies under state law.
In 2011, after she complied with court orders for her arrests, she was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and spent 2 years at the Eloy Detention Center in Southern Arizona. She lost her residency and was placed in deportation proceedings.
After being released from detention in 2013, Alejandra dedicated her life to organizing for reproductive justice and the rights of immigrants.
In January 2018, while leading chants at a peaceful protest in Virginia outside of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), she was singled out and detained by DHS agents.
Although she was released from jail and all charges against her have been dropped, this flagged her case for ICE.
On March 07, 2018, when Alejandra showed up for her check-in with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in Tucson, she was taken into custody.
She was held at the Eloy Detention Center in southern Arizona awaiting a bond hearing for 43 days. The same day she was detained, her supporters started gathering letters of support and petition signatures. They quickly gathered over 20,000 signatures demanding her release.
On April 19th, 2018 Alejandra had an immigration bond hearing in Eloy, AZ.
A federal immigration judge declared she was eligible to be released on a bond of $8,000.
She was released later that day.
Although no longer in custody, Alejandra still has to continue to fight her deportation case.
On December 11, 2018, Alejandra was ordered deported at an asylum hearing.
Alejandra is yet another name added to the growing list of immigrant rights and human rights defenders in the United States who have been targeted by ICE for deportation.
Out of this crisis, the #KeepAleFree campaign was born.
The #KeepAleFree campaign is building nationwide power through narrative shifting that centers on cultural work and storytelling in hopes of creating pathways of protection for criminalized people.
