In the early morning light, former UC Berkeley graduate student Francisco “Pancho” Ramos Stierle sat meditating with three others in the amphitheater by Frank Ogawa Plaza. While police officers moved in to dismantle the Occupy Oakland encampment, Stierle calmly and silently submitted as officers arrested him for failure to disperse.
Stierle — known throughout the Bay Area as a nonviolent spiritual activist — was held at Santa Rita Jail in Dublin before being turned over Thursday morning for detainment and possible deportation to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which eventually released him later in the day with a notice to appear before an immigration judge in the future.
The incident has prompted a discussion in Berkeley of the flaws in the country’s immigration system. Berkeley City Council unanimously passed a resolution Tuesday asking Alameda County to reconsider undocumented immigrants policies.
“The fact that they released him is a good sign,” said Randall Amster, one of the individuals who started a petition for Stierle’s release. “It shows that they see that he is grounded in the local community and they don’t consider him a flight risk.”
After immigrating from Mexico to study astrophysics at UC Berkeley as a graduate student, Stierle dropped out in 2008 due to his opposition to nuclear proliferation. He has been involved in the Occupy movement and past protests on campus.
An online petition for Stierle’s freedom started after his arrest gathered more than 6,000 signatures in less than 24 hours, according to Melissa Dickman, who also helped start the petition and is a friend of Stierle’s. As of press time, the petition had over 8,000 signatures.
“This isn’t just about Pancho,” Dickman said. “This is about needing to look at immigration and human rights policy in this country.”
Supporters took to Facebook, Twitter and blogs to encourage people to sign the petition and call local and state representatives, the San Francisco ICE offices and Alameda County prosecutors to demand Stierle’s release.
UC Berkeley sophomore Rosa Hernandez said she looks up to Stierle because he was studying for his Ph.D. as an undocumented student and because of his moral decision to drop out when he learned that his work could help create “safer bombs.”
“This has brought attention to the fact that a lot of things that the Occupy movement is asking for are in line with what undocumented students are seeking,” Hernandez said. “We’re getting people to talk about the Occupy movement, police brutality and undocumented issues.”
According to a statement from ICE spokesperson Virginia Kice, Stierle was “released on his own recognizance pending a hearing before an immigration judge. It will be up to the immigration courts to determine whether he has a legal basis to remain in the United States.”
No date has been set for Stierle’s hearing.
Adelyn Baxter covers city government.
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According to another story I read on Stierle, he overstayed his student visa. There have been other instances where undocumented students gained a reprieve of sorts from ICE (immigration authorities), Not too long ago a student at Harvard was found to be undocumented and immigration dropped their case. Perhaps the same thing will happen to Stierle.
He could also re-enroll in school. I am sure his immigration attorney will help him get his deportation proceedings cancelled.
Governor Brown recently enacted the Dream Act for undocumented students so perhaps he will be qualified under this legislation.
Studies have shown America will not be ready in 2025 for the jobs necessary at that time. We need bilingual students to service our multi-lingual communities and throughout the world. These undocumented students come from diverse cultures and bring needed language skills, a good education and other attributes to contribute to our world community.
You don’t get it. Stierle does not want to go back to his Astrophysics PhD because he thinks it’s immoral. He is no longer a student. Since he doesn’t want to be one either, our economy and Physics 7 undergrad students have no use for him. Even if he agreed tomorrow to pick up where he left off in his PhD program, and I hope he does, he should still be sent to the ICE detention center because he broke the law and must face his day in court. I’d be the first to welcome him back to America because we do need his brainpower.
What Pancho correctly has pointed out is that we don’t have a crisis of economic resources. If Oakland has $2 million to pay for beating down Occupy tents & activists, and the federal government has billions to spend on Secure Communities, which has put 45,000 children in foster care, doesn’t reimburse local jails for detentions like Pancho’s, involves a lot of infrastructure and are predicated on violence. It is obvious that both are obviously dysfunctional wastes of public treasure, and at the same time, the city of Oakland is literally closing down 5 schools and laying off teachers, then what we have is not a crisis of a lack of economic resources, it is a crisis of economic priorities.
We do have a crisis of economic resources. The cops that were called to monitor Occupy Oakland could not patrol other parts of Oakland which deprived citizens there of police protection. You can’t argue that BECAUSE police were called to break up YOUR violent protest, your city must have enough resources to fund your pet cause. What if I threaten to dump garbage at City Hall if I don’t receive funding for a new Lexus? When the cops come to arrest me, does that prove the city had enough money all along to buy me a Lexus? Furthermore, Secure Communities would not need to put 45,000 children in foster care if only their deported parents would bring them along, so blame the lawbreaking parents and not the public agencies that clean up after those parents. Finally, Oakland could send Pancho with a deputy escort to an ICE detention center instead of paying for his local stay, but as you know sanctuary cities love to waste money keeping illegal aliens around even when they don’t have enough money to staff the police force adequately.
http://www.ice.gov/detention-facilities/index.htm
He had a student visa at Cal. The sophomore’s quote is incorrect. His status changed after he left the program.
Kick this loser out! We don’t need more illegal alien leeches in California – we have more than enough already!!
[UC Berkeley sophomore Rosa Hernandez said she looks up to Stierle
because he was studying for his Ph.D. as an undocumented student and
because of his moral decision to drop out when he learned that his work
could help create “safer bombs.”]
And if you believe that, I have some beachfront property to sell you out in Barstow – plenty of sand too…
“they don’t consider him a flight risk”
Where would he flee to? Mexico? Oakland and Berkeley are sanctuary cities for illegal aliens, so those fleeing immigration officials make our cities their destination.
“Stierle drooped out in 2008 because he was failing his classes.”
And we should believe you because……?
He dropped out of an ASTRO PHYSICS PhD program because he was against making nuclear weapons. How are those two things even related? Stierle drooped out in 2008 because he was failing his classes. Let’s call it like it is.