(RNS) — Advocates are calling for the release of Filipino-American filmmaker Ya’akub Ira Vijandre, a Muslim who was detained by United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement outside his Dallas home last week, arguing he was detained illegally because he is protected under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program.
Vijandre’s arrest on Oct. 7 marks the second time a well-known Muslim community member in Dallas was detained by immigration officials in less than a month. In late September, community leader Marwan Marouf was detained by ICE. Advocates say Marouf’s arrest was part of a Trump administration effort to criminalize pro-Palestinian activism and suppress free speech, while the administration said he overstayed his visa and was denied a green card due to past support for a troubled, now-defunct foundation.
Vijandre, an artist known for his solidarity activism for Palestinians, is legally protected from deportation under DACA, according to his lawyers from the Muslim Legal Fund of America, who released a joint statement with the Council on American-Islamic Relations – Texas DFW, condemning his arrest.
“To detain him is to trample on justice itself,” the Oct. 8 statement read. “ICE’s actions are not only unlawful, but also a disturbing abuse of power and a direct violation of his rights.”
Vijandre, who is being held at Bluebonnet Detention Facility, about 200 miles west of Dallas in Texas, was born in the Philippines and settled in the U.S. as a child. His friends said he is a beloved storyteller and photographer recognized for uplifting marginalized people. He converted to Islam in 2022 and teaches Filipino martial arts.
“He was really connected to his Filipino roots, but he also loved other cultures,” said Mohammad Ayesh, an organizer in Dallas and friend of Vijandre. “His whole focus it seemed was just around humans telling human stories.”
Over the past two weeks, Vijandre was working on a documentary series about people shaped by Marouf’s mentorship and advocacy work in Dallas. Ayesh told Religion News Service the goal of the project was to counter the Department of Homeland Security narrative about Marouf.
“When ICE is not able to find criminals, they start picking up innocent, good people and trying to paint them as criminals to justify what they’re doing,” Ayesh said. “Ya’akub stepped up and said let’s tell the real story.”
Ayesh said he believed Vijandre’s arrest was meant to scare Muslim Americans and immigrants.
“But they can’t really scare us,” Ayesh said. “We know the moves, we know the game plan. Before, it was just a bunch of scared immigrants. Now, it’s the children of scared immigrants who lost all that fear and who now understand how the system works and who are very prepared to fight back.”
DHS did not respond to RNS’ request for comment ahead of publication.
As of Monday afternoon (Oct. 13), an online fundraiser to cover Vijandre’s legal fees raised more than $19,000. His first court hearing is set for Oct. 21, in El Paso, Texas.
“Ya’akub’s DACA status legally shields him from ICE detention or deportation,” reads the fundraiser page organized by ICNA Council for Social Justice, a Muslim human rights organization. “Yet, ICE disregarded the law — and violated his rights and DACA status. This isn’t just about Ya’akub (Jacob). It’s about the safety and dignity of every immigrant.”
Recipients of DACA, a popular Obama-era program designed to provide work authorization and temporary protection from deportation for undocumented immigrants who arrived in the U.S. as children, are currently in limbo. A federal appeals court earlier this year ruled to allow current recipients protection from deportations.
But young recipients across the country have not been safe from Trump’s mass deportation campaign. Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin told NBC News in July that “DACA does not confer any form of legal status in this country” and that “a DACA recipient may be subject to arrest and deportation.”
Still, lawyers and advocates are challenging the detention of DACA recipients in court. In Texas this month, a federal judge ordered the release of DACA recipient Catalina Santiago, who was detained for two months. Last month, Paulo Cesar Gamez Lira of Texas was also ordered free after lawyers argued his detention was unlawful because of his valid DACA status.
“This case shows that the government absolutely should refrain from detaining DACA recipients,” said Becca Sheff, senior staff attorney at the ACLU of New Mexico, which represented Gamez Lira in his immigration case, in a statement.