A DACA recipient who grew up in the San Diego area has been held for more than two months in a detention center in Arizona after he was accused of stealing baby food, according to his family and attorney.
Bryant Sempoalt Chavez was brought to the U.S. from Mexico in 2002, just before his 4th birthday, with his family settling in El Cajon. When he was 16, he applied for and received DACA, or Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, a program that essentially serves as an agreement that the federal government won’t attempt to deport undocumented people who were brought to the U.S. when they were young and remain in good standing.
Sempoalt Chavez renews his DACA every two years and, through the program, has employment authorization and works in construction, his family said. He graduated from Grossmont High School and married an American citizen, welcoming two U.S. citizen children: daughters, ages 1 and 4. His attorney said his DACA is valid through 2027, and he’s applied for his green card through his wife…