UC Berkeley student released from ICE detention center

SF Gate – By Annie Ma

After a single wrong turn led to nearly three weeks in Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention, Luis Mora is finally going back to school.

Following a five-minute hearing Wednesday, an immigration judge ordered the UC Berkeley junior’s release from custody on the minimum possible bond, $1,500, while his case is pending. Lawyers for ICE made no arguments against bond and waived an appeal, said Prerna Lal, Mora’s attorney.

Though he missed the first day of classes at Berkeley, Mora will be able to continue pursuing a political science degree as his case progresses through the courts. Lal filed a change of venue to move proceedings from San Diego to San Francisco.

Mora was detained Dec. 30 when he and his girlfriend were driving in San Diego County and got lost on the way home from a holiday party. They ended up at a Customs and Border Protection checkpoint. Mora was found to have overstayed a six-month visitor visa issued in 2009, an ICE spokeswoman said, and he was taken into custody by CPB before being transferred into ICE custody at Otay Mesa Detention Center.

Continue reading…