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READING — A Berks County grandfather who helped law enforcement
investigate the killing of his daughter is still in ICE detention.
But a new finding by a federal immigration agency that he should be
at least temporarily protected from deportation strengthens the
case for his release, his attorneys say.
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services recently found Erasmo
Zavala’s
U visa application is “bona fide,” meaning it meets core
eligibility requirements and has enough evidence to merit temporary
protection while the agency continues to review his case.
U visas are a form of immigration relief created by Congress for
victims and witnesses of crimes who help police investigate and
prosecute serious crimes. The program offers a pathway to lawful
permanent residency to eligible applicants.
However, the Trump administration in January
2025 rescinded a “victim-centered” approach that discouraged
ICE agents from detaining immigrants with pending U and T visa
applications.
In a notice dated May 15, USCIS informed Zavala and his legal
team that “the evidence demonstrates your petition for U
nonimmigrant status is bona fide” and that he warranted a
“favorable exercise of discretion” for deferred action and
employment authorization.
Attorneys from law firm Aldea PJC representing Zavala say the
bona fide determination is a “huge victory for him and his family,”
and that his “continuing detention is now even more unlawful.”
“Despite his grant of deferred action, Erasmo spent his 51st
birthday in Moshannon Valley Processing Center last week away from
his wife, surviving daughter and surviving granddaughter,” Aldea
said in an emailed announcement.
Bridget Cambria, lead attorney in Zavala’s case, said she has
submitted a request to ICE for an official stay of removal and for
Zavala’s release from custody, urging the agency to honor the
deportation protections granted to him by USCIS. ICE had not
responded to that request as of Friday afternoon.
Judge Stephanie Haines from the Western District of Pennsylvania
is expected to issue a ruling on Zavala’s case sometime before June
1. She will consider Zavala’s newly approved bona fide status, but
ICE could release Zavala at any time without waiting for the
judge’s decision, Cambria said.
“The determination of whether to stay removal for someone who
has deferred action, has employment authorization, and is a
cooperating victim, it’s a no-brainer,” Cambria said, adding that
Zavala has no criminal history. “They should do it, and it
shouldn’t take so long. They make decisions every day to release
people from custody.”
Zavala and his wife applied for U visas after their daughter,
Selena, was murdered by her abuser, who also shot and nearly killed
their two-month-old granddaughter. (Spotlight PA is not naming
Zavala’s wife because her application is still pending).
The Berks County District Attorney’s Office certified the
couple’s U visa applications. USCIS received Zavala’s application
in January 2026, according to court filings.
Despite following the correct process and disclosing prior
immigration violations, as required by U visa application rules,
Zavala was detained by ICE in mid-April.
According to court filings and other records, ICE identified
Zavala for enforcement after USCIS flagged him as an applicant with
a prior immigration order following his biometrics appointment.
Zavala’s attorneys argue ICE wrongly treated him as immediately
deportable and failed to consider his pending humanitarian
application.
Zavala’s wife told Spotlight PA that her husband’s bona fide
determination is “good news” after all that her family has been
through. She’s waiting for information about when he could be
released from ICE custody.
In the meantime, she is trying to be prepared if the couple has
to leave the country. She is currently in the process of correcting
a name error on her granddaughter’s birth certificate, so she can
secure a passport for the child, who is a U.S. citizen.
“The fear is that Erasmo and I get deported and the child would
have to stay here,” she said in an interview conducted in Spanish.
“Who would the girl stay with?”
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