An undocumented Buda resident who has been in Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody for months is fighting to obtain status as a refugee in an effort to stay with her family.
Janelie Rodriguez, 25, is checking off another month in her stay at the South Texas Detention Center in Pearsall and adding another trial date to her schedule. Rodriguez was granted a $7,500 bond earlier this month, giving her the chance to go home to be with her family and delay her trial and move it to another court.
However, ICE intervened later that day with an appeal citing Rodriguez’s mental health as a danger to society. Rodriguez remains in custody, but her attorney Chito Vela is arguing the appeal and preparing to file an asylum application to grant Janelie Rodriguez freedom to stay indefinitely, or until conditions in Mexico are considered safe for her to return.
“Janelie hasn’t spent time in Mexico because she left when she was two or three years old,” Vela said. “That’s why she should be granted asylum. She’s fluent in English and her Spanish isn’t as good, so it would be obvious she’s not local and she doesn’t have support there.”
Vela said he has a lot of experience with asylum applications. The applications are tough, according to Vela, but he said he believes his client has a strong case considering her mental health status.
Rodriquez was diagnosed with mental health issues when she was 20 and rarely had serious issues as a result, said Janeth Rodriguez, Janelie’s mother. Both Janeth Rodriguez and Vela worry she will be assaulted if she were to be sent alone to Mexico, due to her tendency to hallucinate and wander.
“If she is sent to Mexico with her medical condition then she’s in danger of being assaulted or sexually assaulted given the situation in Mexico right now,” Vela said. “She’s hanging tough right now and has a lot of support from her family.”
Janelie Rodriguez’ next court date is scheduled for early November. She could remain in ICE custody, unless the judge in her case grants the appeal.
Janeth Rodriguez said she fears for her daughter’s safety after the bond hearing results.
“She had a lot of hope at her hearing, but she wasn’t released,” Janeth Rodriguez said in a translated interview. “She told me she started having more hallucinations.”
Janelie Rodriguez only has access to an asthma inhaler, according to her mother. Her mother and lawyer report that Janelie Rodriguez is not being provided with medication for her mental condition while she is in Pearsall, despite having received it during her time in the Hays County Jail.
