BURLINGTON — A federal judge has freed from custody the third of three people who were detained last week by federal immigration authorities during a raid on a home in South Burlington.
Judge Christina Reiss ordered the immediate release of Daysi Camila Patin Patin, 20, following a hearing late Friday afternoon in federal court in Burlington. She had been in custody since the raid on March 11.
Three separate federal judges ordered ICE detainees’ immediate release this week in the Burlington court. A fourth was released after a bond hearing in immigration court in Massachusetts.
All three of the people detained in last week’s raid — Patin Patin, her sister Jisella Johana Patin Patin and Cristian Humberto Jerez Andrade — have been released following court hearings this week. Jerez Andrade faced a bond hearing in immigration court before being released.
Jaime Eliceo Castro Guaman, who was detained separately last week in an U.S Immigration and Customs Enforcement traffic stop along with a co-worker, was also released this week by a federal judge in Burlington. His co-worker’s status is uncertain as of Friday.
Outside the courthouse Friday, wet snow fell on the hoods and umbrellas of dozens of people who had gathered outside to support Patin Patin, including Jerez Andrade, who was released Thursday.
Organizers and supporters grinned and cheered as Patin Patin emerged from the building following her hearing.
“We were so happy with what we achieved this week,” Migrant Justice organizer Abel Luna told the crowd in Spanish. “We freed Johana, we freed Cristian, we freed Jaime, and today we freed our comrade Camila.”
Nathan Virag, Patin Patin’s attorney, said the ICE operation leading to Daysi Camila Patin Patin’s detainment had changed her life, adding, “She was very scared.”
Virag told the judge that his client was not a risk to flee, if released, and did not pose a danger to the community.
“As police broke down her door, she surrendered right away,” he said.
Neither Patin Patin nor any of the two other people detained in last week’s ICE raid were the person named in a warrant and who U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials had been seeking when they stormed into the residence where all three were staying. The ICE officials forced their way into the home following an hourslong standoff outside the residence where hundreds of protesters had gathered.
Reiss, in ordering Patin Patin’s release Friday, said she based her decision on several factors, agreeing with Patin Patin’s attorney that she did not pose a danger to the community or a risk of flight. In addition, the judge said, Patin Patin’s warrantless arrest may have been unlawful.
Patin Patin, a citizen of Ecuador, came to the United States as an unaccompanied minor at 17 after fleeing her home country in January 2023, according to court documents.
After ICE officers took her into custody last week, her attorney filed a petition with the court seeking her immediate release, contending that her detention was a violation of her constitutional rights.
Virag told the judge during Friday’s hearing that Patin Patin intended to file an application seeking asylum in the United States through the immigration court process.
Matthew Greer, the attorney for the government, called on the judge Friday to order Patin Patin to face a bond hearing in immigration court prior to any release. However, Reiss ordered Patin Patin’s immediate release.
Patin Patin’s sister, who was released Monday, attended Friday’s hearing. The sisters embraced in the back of the courtroom after the hearing as a packed gallery of their supporters looked on.
The person ICE officials had been seeking and who was named in the warrant remains at large.
Will Lambek, an organizer with Migrant Justice, said outside the courthouse Friday that now that all three people who were detained in the raid have been released, the group will focus on working for accountability for the law enforcement agencies that were involved in the raid. Migrant Justice had gathered a crowd of supporters outside the courthouse nearly every day this week during the detainees’ hearings.
Vermont State Police and local police departments have faced scrutiny over their role in the raid, in which state police troopers helped clear a path for immigration officers to enter the house.
State and local police departments have faced scrutiny over their role in the raid, in which state troopers helped clear a path for immigration officers to enter the house. In a hearing at the statehouse Thursday, law enforcement officials defended their officers’ actions.
“The struggle for accountability now begins,” Lambek told the crowd Friday.
“We must make sure this never happens again.”
