Kevin Zaldaña Ramirez, a 20-year-old Salvadoran immigrant with a valid U.S. work visa, spent nearly a month in an ICE detention center in Texas. His detention has sparked concerns over immigration policies, due process, and enforcement contradictions.
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Though carrying a valid U.S. work visa, 20-year Salvadoran immigrant Kevin Zaldaña Ramirez spent almost a month in an ICE detention camp in Conroe, Texas. His family is seeking explanations for why they had to pay a $3,000 fee for his release when he had done nothing illegal.
On February 25, Ramirez was arrested after law enforcement stopped his car on his way to a building site with colleagues. ICE officials justified their choice even though they were given a Special Immigrant Juvenile Visa (SIJ), which offers a route to citizenship, saying that possessing a work visa "does not confer lawful status."
Frustrated, his attorney Susana Hart pointed out the discrepancies in immigration policy. She noted that Ramirez had followed legal processes, seeking asylum and filing for Sij status—created by Congress to safeguard vulnerable children.
Targeting transnational gangs, ICE captured Ramirez during a combined operation with Texas DPS. The charges revealed no direct gang links, though. Declaring that his family left El Salvador when he was 14 to avoid gang violence, Ramirez adamantly denied any relationship with gangs.
Ramirez's case emphasizes more general issues with immigration laws, especially the treatment of immigrants who pursue legal routes but yet encounter detention and uncertainty.
