Immigrants and civil-rights attorneys have filed a petition in federal court in Seattle seeking the release of a 23-year-old Mexican immigrant brought illegally into the United States as a child but given a work permit under the Obama administration. 
 
 Immigrants and civil-rights attorneys have filed a petition in federal court in Seattle seeking the release of a 23-year-old Mexican immigrant brought illegally into the United States as a child but given a work permit under the Obama administration. 
 
 The petition challenges the immigration detention and seeks the release of Daniel Ramirez Medina, who his attorneys say was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents Friday. The agents were conducting an action at his father’s house and Medina was detained, according to the news service Reuters and a news release by the attorneys in his case. 
 
 ICE countered in an email Tuesday night that Medina — whom they identify as “Mr. Ramirez” — was a “self-admitted gang member” encountered during the arrest of a felon who had previously been deported. 
 
 He is in custody at the Northwest Detention Center in Tacoma “to await the outcome of removal proceedings,” said ICE Northwest spokeswoman Rose Richeson. 
 
 “ICE officers took Mr. Ramirez into custody based on his admitted gang affiliation and risk to public safety,” Richeson said. 
 
 ICE did not respond when asked whether Medina has a criminal history. His attorneys said the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees ICE, considered him to be “lawfully present and is legally authorized to work in the United States,” a status that would usually preclude a serious criminal history. 
 
 Medina’s attorney, Mark Rosenbaum, said his client “unequivocally denies being in a gang” and said “he was repeatedly pressured” by ICE to “falsely admit affiliation.” Richeson’s statement, he said, “is inaccurate.” 
 
 Lawyers allege that Medina is the first immigration action taken by the Trump administration against someone who has been allowed to stay in the country under the Obama administration’s 2012 “Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals” (DACA) program, which deferred deportation or other adverse immigration actions against individuals who entered the U.S. illegally as children. 
 
 The lawsuit alleges Medina has been in the United States since he was 7 years old. 
 
 Sen. Maria Cantwell said Tuesday that she is “looking into this troubling situation,” and U.S. Rep. Pramila Jayapal, blaming the Trump administration’s “deportation force,” demanded Medina’s immediate release. 
 
 “Trust in our government depends upon the executive branch keeping its word,” said Rosenbaum, director of the Public Counsel Law Center in Los Angeles. He accused the federal government of a “bait and switch,” by having people register for the DACA program and then trying to deport them. 
 
 Seattle Mayor Ed Murray and Councilmember M. Lorena González in a news release reaffirmed Seattle’s place as a Sanctuary City in defiance of the Trump administration. They called for the immediate clarification of the status of Medina and whether the administration has changed its stance on the DACA recipients. 
 
 In the meantime, they reiterated that “no City of Seattle official will ever ask about your immigration status” and police will not help ICE detain or deport immigrants “who are doing nothing more than raising their families” and contributing to the city’s success. 
 
 But Murray warned that “ICE officials still have the power and jurisdiction to enter into the boundaries of Seattle and conduct their harmful actions without notifying the city,” and urged immigrants to review their rights on a Facebook workshop. 
 
 The lawsuit prompted a quick response by the court. U.S. Magistrate Judge James Donohue in Seattle late Tuesday issued an order requiring the government to respond to the petition by Thursday and set a hearing for Friday. 
 
 The judge ordered the government to reveal whether Medina is still detained and why, “given that he has been granted deferred action under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program?” 
 
 The judge is demanding immigration officials say whether he has been placed in “removal proceedings” to deport him as the result of ICE’s initial custody determination. If not, he asks the government to explain why he is still being held. Donohue also asks whether Medina has asked for or received a bond hearing. 
 
 The lawsuit alleges the government has violated Medina’s due-process rights, according to a joint news release by the Public Counsel Law Center, the Barrera Legal Group and the firm of Gibson Gunn & Crutcher, a firm with offices in Los Angeles. 
 
 It seeks his immediate release and an order barring ICE from any further actions. 
 
 The detention comes on the heels of controversial ICE immigration raids following the election of President Trump and his promise to deport illegal and criminal immigrants. 
 
 DACA was created by Obama and provided a reprieve from deportation for those who qualify along with renewable work permits. The lawsuit alleges Medina twice had his permit renewed before his detention. It’s estimated that as many as 750,000 young people — called Dreamers — have taken advantage of the program. ||||| (CNN) A federal judge in Seattle on Friday declined to release from detention a 23-year-old immigrant who had been protected from deportation under Obama-era rules. 
 
 Magistrate Judge James Donohue set a February 24 bond hearing for Daniel Ramirez Medina, thereby extending for a week a case that has roiled pro-immigration groups. 
 
 Ramirez is originally from Mexico and had twice been granted deferred action and employment authorization under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA , his lawyers said. The program, created by President Barack Obama's executive order in 2012, is meant to shield qualified individuals from deportation. 
 
 Ramirez was detained by US immigration officials in Washington state last week. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials said Medina had admitted to being a gang member, while his attorneys denied that accusation and said he was not a threat to public safety. 
 
 "There is no basis for detaining our client," defense attorney Theodore Boutrous said in a press conference after the hearing. "It is outrageous." 
 
 The case raises questions about what it could mean for Dreamers, undocumented immigrants who were brought to the United States as children. Ramirez came to the United States when he was 7 years old and became a DACA recipient in 2014 and renewed in 2016, according to court papers filed by his attorneys. 
 
 Immigration rights groups say they believe this may be the first time a Dreamer has been arrested without cause. 
 
 Ramirez's lawyers have filed suit in federal court saying their client is being unlawfully held by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials. 
 
 "The federal government may not arbitrarily or capriciously deprive DACA recipients of these benefits, as they have here with Mr. Ramirez," his lawyers wrote in briefs filed in court. 
 
 Differing accounts of Ramirez's history 
 
 The government and Ramirez's lawyers have presented very different depictions of him. 
 
 His attorneys argue Ramirez is being "presently detained without justification" and that he presents "no threat to national security or public safety." 
 
 An ICE spokesperson offered a different account. 
 
 ICE said Ramirez was taken into custody "based on his admitted gang affiliation and risk to public safety." 
 
 Rose Richeson, an ICE spokesperson, said, "Mr. Ramirez -- a self-admitted gang member -- was encountered at a residence in Des Moines, Washington, during an operation targeting a prior-deported felon. He was arrested February 10 by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement and transferred to the Northwest Detention Center to await the outcome of removal proceedings before an immigration judge with the Department of Justice's Executive Office for Immigration Review." 
 
 Mark Rosenbaum, counsel for Ramirez, disputed the ICE's characterization in a statement: "Mr. Ramirez unequivocally denies being in a gang. While in custody, he was repeatedly pressured by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents to falsely admit affiliation. The statement issued tonight by Ms. Richeson of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement is inaccurate." 
 
 The conflicting stories come amid immigrant rights attorneys' fears that President Donald Trump's administration will target the Dreamers, who were temporarily allowed to live and work in the United States after passing background checks. About 750,000 people have received permission to stay under DACA. 
 
 The arrest 
 
 ICE agents arrived last Friday morning at Ramirez's father's house, according to the court papers filed by Ramirez's attorney. The agents had an arrest warrant for the father. The court papers allege that ICE officials asked whether Ramirez was in the state legally and he responded that he was. 
 
 On the advice of his brother, who also is a DACA recipient, Ramirez declined to answer more questions. 
 
 ICE agents took Ramirez to a Seattle processing center where he told them that he had a work permit. Ramirez was told by one of the ICE agents, "It doesn't matter, because you weren't born in this country," according to the lawsuit. 
 
 Ramirez remains in ICE's custody in Tacoma, according to court documents filed by his lawyers. 
 
 Ramirez had moved from California to Washington in May. He moved with his 3-year-old son to join his father in search of better economic opportunities, according to his lawyers. 
 
 ICE said that Ramirez was arrested in Des Moines, Washington, a suburb south of Seattle. His lawyers' court filing states the arrest happened in Seattle. 
 
 In response to the case, Seattle's mayor Ed Murray and City Councilmember M. Lorena González, reiterated its sanctuary city policy. 
 
 "The Seattle Police Department will not help ICE detain or deport immigrants who are doing nothing more than raising their families and contributing to the vibrant culture and successful economy of our city," according to their joint statement. 
 
 They're also requesting details of the arrest from Seattle's local ICE office. 
 
 I join @CMLGonzalez in seeking answers about the arrest of a Dreamer in our city. Uncertainty only creates more fear https://t.co/TLw7TJDhNQ pic.twitter.com/XphztAq81N — Ed Murray (@MayorEdMurray) February 15, 2017 
 
 Outcry over detainment 
 
 A small group of demonstrators gathered in Tacoma demanding Ramirez's release Tuesday. 
 
 House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi said in a statement: "We should not be wasting resources on deporting law-abiding and contributing members of our communities. Dreamers represent the best of America. We must get to the bottom of this so that it doesn't happen again." 
 
 Washington Sen. Maria Cantwell pledged to looking "into this troubling situation." ||||| Daniel Ramirez Medina, 23, who has no criminal record, was arrested along with his father despite having received protection under Obama’s Daca program 
 
 US authorities have arrested an immigrant from Mexico who was brought to the United States illegally as a child and later given a work permit during the Obama administration in what could be the first detention of its kind under Donald Trump. 
 
 Daniel Ramirez Medina, a 23-year-old with no criminal record, was taken into custody last week at his father’s home in Seattle by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) officers. The officers arrived at the home to arrest the man’s father, though court documents did not make clear the reason the father was taken into custody. 
 
 Immigrant rights groups brace for more deportation raids: 'This is the beginning' Read more 
 
 Ramirez, now in custody in Tacoma, Washington, was granted temporary permission to live and work legally in the United States under a program called the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or Daca, established in 2012 by Barack Obama, according to a court filing. 
 
 The program protects from deportation 750,000 people who were brought to the United States illegally as children, sometimes called “Dreamers”, and gives them the temporary right to work legally in the United States. 
 
 Trump has promised a crackdown on the estimated 11 million undocumented immigrants in the United States, most of whom come from Mexico and other Latin American countries. A move against Daca recipients like Ramirez would represent a significant broadening of immigration enforcement under Trump. 
 
 Ramirez filed a challenge to his detention in Seattle federal court on Monday, arguing that the government violated his constitutional rights because he had work authorization under the Daca program. 
 
 Ethan Dettmer, a partner in the law firm Gibson Dunn & Crutcher who is one of the lawyers representing Ramirez, said he was not aware of any other Daca recipient who had been arrested. 
 
 “We are hoping this detention was a mistake,” Dettmer said. 
 
 Another one of his lawyers, Mark Rosenbaum of the legal advocacy group Public Counsel, characterized the Daca program as a promise from the federal government’s executive branch that Daca recipients would not be targeted for deportation. 
 
 
 
 “We have no reason to believe that promise will be broken. This case should not see the inside of a courtroom,” Rosenbaum said. 
 
 Ramirez was in custody and unavailable for comment. Representatives for Ice declined immediate comment on the lawsuit. 
 
 Emily Langley, a spokeswoman for the US attorney’s office in Seattle, said the justice department was still reviewing the case. 
 
 US immigration officers last week arrested more than 680 people in the country illegally. The Department of Homeland Security secretary, John Kelly, said the operations, conducted in at least a dozen states, were routine and consistent with regular operations. But immigrant advocacy groups and Democrats have expressed concern that the Trump administration will escalate immigration enforcement efforts in line with the president’s tough stance toward undocumented immigrants. 
 
 Trump campaigned on a promise to roll back Obama’s executive actions on immigration, but since assuming office he has kept his public comments on Daca vague. 
 
 How immigration activists mobilized to thwart deportation raids last weekend Read more 
 
 In an interview with ABC News last month, Trump said his administration was devising a policy on how to deal with people covered by Daca. “They are here illegally. They shouldn’t be very worried. I do have a big heart. We’re going to take care of everybody. We’re going to have a very strong border,” Trump said at the time. 
 
 Under Daca, the government collected information including participants’ addresses that potentially could be used to locate and deport them if the program is reversed. 
 
 Ramirez was brought to the United States from Mexico in about 2001 when he was about seven, according to the lawsuit. The government granted him a Daca card in 2014 and renewed it in 2016, finding that he was no threat to public safety. He has a three-year-old son, according to the complaint. 
 
 Ramirez in his lawsuit is seeking his immediate release and an injunction forbidding the government from arresting him again. A hearing in the case has been scheduled for Friday. ||||| After a week of raids that targeted nearly 700 immigrants across the country, Immigrations and Customs Enforcement has reportedly gone into uncharted territory—arresting a Mexican immigrant who had been cleared to live and work in the U.S. under President Obama’s Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA. 
 
 Daniel Ramirez Medina was taken into custody in Seattle, WA, last week, Reuters reported, after ICE officials came to arrest his father (why ICE officers had come for his father remains unclear). A 23-year-old with no criminal history, Ramirez had been granted a permit to live and work legally in the U.S. under DACA, which specifically protects children who were brought to the U.S. by their undocumented parents. These young people, also known as DREAMers, named after the proposed DREAM act. 
 
 If Ramirez’s detention was intentional, he would be the first DACA recipient arrested under the Trump administration, an act that could signal further arrests of immigrants who had been considered, for the moment at least, legal residents of the U.S. 
 
 Just last month, President Donald Trump seemed to imply that protections would still apply to immigrants who were granted DACA, telling David Muir of ABC News that people “shouldn’t be very worried. I do have a big heart. We’re going to take care of everybody.” 
 
 Now, Ramirez, who is still in custody, has filed a challenge against his detention, arguing that the government violated his constitutional rights by arresting him after he had previously been granted permission to stay in the United States. 
 
 In his lawsuit, Ramirez claims he had disclosed his DACA paperwork twice to ICE officers, once in his father’s home and a second time while in a processing center. 
 
 “It doesn’t matter, because you weren’t born in this country,” one of the agents reportedly said. 
 
 ICE did not immediately respond to a request for comment. 
 
 A hearing in the case is scheduled for Friday. 
 
 This post has been updated throughout.
– The first case of many? A man brought to the US from Mexico as a child is being detained by immigration authorities despite having been granted a work permit under President Obama's Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals plan, Fusion reports. Daniel Ramirez Medina, 23, was arrested when Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrived at his Seattle home to detain his father for undisclosed reasons, the Guardian reports. He is believed to be the first of around 750,000 "DREAMers" brought to the US illegally as children to be detained in recent immigration raids, and lawyers have filed a petition in federal court seeking his release. Lawyers say Ramirez has been in the country since he was 7 years old and accuse the government of breaking a promise not to target DACA recipients for deportation, the Seattle Times reports. "Trust in our government depends upon the executive branch keeping its word," says Mark Rosenbaum, director of the Public Counsel Law Center, who's representing Ramirez. An ICE spokesperson describes Ramirez as a "self-admitted gang member" who's being detained "to await the outcome of removal proceedings" because he is a risk to public safety, though Rosenbaum says his client denies being in a gang, CNN reports. He says Ramirez was pressured to "falsely admit affiliation" while in immigration custody.