Over a hundred people gathered at sunset on Sunday in an East Boston park, where they prayed in front of an altar adorned with candles, orange and yellow flowers, and photographs.
They were there to call for the release of two community organizers recently detained by federal immigration authorities: Carlos Chang Barrios and Catalina “Xochitl” Santiago. Both were active members of the local community, and were known for pushing Massachusetts to pass the law allowing undocumented immigrants to apply for driver’s licenses. Now, both are being held without charges.
Chang Barrios, of Lawrence, was detained on July 29 while heading to a construction job in Maine.
Chang Barrios came to the United States in 2008 from Guatemala, and is undocumented. He has no criminal record or prior arrests in the United States, and his family and friends say he has no criminal record in Guatemala.
An Aug 8. temporary restraining order from U.S. District Judge John Woodcock Jr. kept Chang Barrios from being removed from Maine until more recently, when he was transferred to Massachusetts. Chang Barrios is currently being held at the Plymouth County ICE detention Center.
“It’s impacted us a lot, because Carlos has always been a generous person, very collaborative with the community. He’s always been a person of faith, who gets involved with things at the church,” said Josias Orozco, Chang Barrio’s cousin. GBH News is only using Orozco’s middle and last name due to his own fears of deportation.
“He’s never had a fight, never had a ticket,” said Orozco. “It is hard to know that someone like him is arrested, and in a place that is supposed to be for criminals.”
Orozco alleged that Chang Barrios was unable to make calls to his family or an attorney for nearly three weeks after his detention.
Catalina “Xochitl” Santiago lived in Massachusetts and worked as an organizer until 2020, and moved to El Paso for work. She was detained on Aug. 3 at the El Paso airport while boarding a domestic flight for a conference, despite presenting a work authorization card. Originally from Mexico, she came to the U.S. at the age of 8 and has been granted temporary protection to live and work in the country legally under the federal Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program . Still, the Trump administration has detained DACA recipients and encouraged others to self-deport.
An attorney for Santiago put out a public statement earlier in August saying that her DACA status “remains valid and she has not been convicted of any disqualifying crimes that would lead her to lose this status.”
At Sunday’s vigil, friends and supporters from advocacy organization Movimiento Cosecha demanded the release of Santiago and Chang Barrios.
Alicia Lopez, of New Bedford, with the organization Mujeres Victoriosas, said Santiago is a strong advocate for immigrants’ rights.
“She is a part of these roots,” Lopez said. “I remember one day that I was talking to [her] and I said, 'I am 45. You brought in energy and you brought us something for us, older people, because we had no voice.’”
Chang Barrios is also well known. Orozco said he and his cousin used to play drums at marches for the driver’s license campaign while organizing with Cosecha Massachusetts.
The Department of Homeland Security confirmed to GBH News that Chang Barrios and two other passengers were arrested in Auburn, Maine.
“Barrios is an illegal alien from Mexico who claims to have entered the U.S. illegally,” said a senior DHS official in an email. “Despite having no legal authorization to be in the U.S., nor a valid work permit, Barrios had been living in the U.S. illegally for over a decade and was illegally employed.” The department urges people without documents to self-deport.
