Sign up for Waco Public Radio's newsletter that brings our top stories to your inbox each week.
This story was originally published on August 6 at 7:00 am. This digital post will be updated as more information is made available.
Nearly 100 protesters gathered Tuesday outside the federal courthouse in Waco, which also houses the local U.S. Immigration and Criminal Enforcement (ICE) Fugitive Operations office.
Mark Hays, chairman of the McLennan County Democratic Party, helped organize the protest. He said at the heart of the demonstration is a basic belief in fairness.
“I was raised to believe that if you were in America, breathing in America, you had a right to due process,” Hays said.
That right, he argued, was denied to Noe Guerrero, a Mexican national and Waco construction worker.
According to a video posted to Facebook by his employer, Guerrero was stopped by plainclothes ICE agents. They presented Guerrero an administrative warrant, a document used to arrest non-citizens believed to have violated immigration laws. When he did not immediately comply or produce his immigration papers, which were inside the vehicle, one of the agents broke his window.
Guerrero was detained, charged with failing to carry proper immigration documentation, and turned over to U.S. Marshals. His court hearing was originally scheduled for Tuesday, but Hays said the charges were dropped — even as Guerrero was transferred to a detention center.
“They dropped the charges he was originally arrested on, and yet they’re still sending him to Conroe,” Hays said.
Guerrero’s attorney, Anali Looper, said in a press release that he is now being transferred to an immigration detention center north of Houston.
In a phone call Wednesday, she said ICE has given her no reason for the transfer.
Hays said he’s concerned about what that means for Guerrero’s future.
“Presumably, when you go to one of those ICE detention centers, that is a preliminary to deportation,” he said.
Under federal law, even if criminal charges are dropped, civil immigration enforcement can still pursue detention. Immigration and Customs Enforcement can hold individuals it believes are in violation of immigration laws, regardless of whether they’ve been convicted of a crime.
In an emailed statement, an ICE spokesperson said Guerrero is “an illegal alien who has a prior conviction for driving while intoxicated” and that he “violated the terms of his immigration bond by engaging in suspected criminal activity.”
But Guerrero’s attorney said ICE has not disclosed what that criminal activity is. She has requested that Guerrero be released while the "suspected criminal activity" is investigated.
"Their statement was, 'since there is an investigation pending, we are not going to release him,'" Guerrero's lawyer, Anali Looper said. "My statement is that that agency can go arrest him when they have made a probable cause showing [to a judge]."
She said since his 2014 DWI conviction, Guerrero has been granted temporary work authorization while he works through the immigration and removal process.
He has complied with all bond requirements and appointments.
"He would have been automatically ordered deported if he had missed a hearing," she said.
Looper said when ICE transferred Guerrero to Conroe, they revoked his immigration. She will be submitting a request to have that bond agreement reinstated.
Guerrero has been working in Waco for over a decade. His employers say he is a model employee. He has a wife and young kids, and just purchased a home in the area.
While ICE says it focuses on individuals who pose threats to public safety, some worry enforcement has broadened to include people with clean records and strong community ties.
“I do think that people who follow the rules or what they’ve been asked to do are easy targets for enforcement," Huyen Pham said. She teaches immigration law at Texas A&M University.
Pham said temporary work authorizations can be revoked at any time, and she worries Guerrero’s case reflects a larger shift.
“I think what we’re seeing across the country is what mass deportation looks like on a local level,” she said.
Hays agrees and said the potential consequences for Waco could be serious.
“The lower-end estimate of the undocumented immigrant population in McLennan County is around 15,000,” he said. “And the vast majority are younger, working people who are part of our economy.”
He said losing those workers could ripple across industries, schools and neighborhoods.
As for Guerrero, supporters said they plan to keep pressing for answers.
Got a tip? Email Molly-Jo Tilton at Molly-jo_tilton@baylor.edu.
KWBU is made possible through the generosity of our members. If you find this reporting valuable, consider making a tax-deductible gift today. Thank you.
