{"id":201906,"date":"2026-05-25T13:42:18","date_gmt":"2026-05-25T13:42:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/201906\/"},"modified":"2026-05-25T13:42:18","modified_gmt":"2026-05-25T13:42:18","slug":"berks-grandfather-who-aided-investigation-of-his-daughters-murder-gets-win-in-ice-detention-fight-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/201906\/","title":{"rendered":"Berks grandfather who aided investigation of his daughter\u2019s murder gets win in ICE detention fight"},"content":{"rendered":"

This story was produced by the Berks County bureau of Spotlight PA<\/a>, an independent, nonpartisan newsroom. Sign up for Good Day, Berks, a daily dose of essential local stories at spotlightpa.org\/newsletters\/gooddayberks<\/a>.<\/p>\n

READING \u2014 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.<\/p>\n

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services recently found Erasmo Zavala\u2019s U visa application<\/a> is \u201cbona fide,\u201d meaning it meets core eligibility requirements and has enough evidence to merit temporary protection while the agency continues to review his case.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

However, the Trump administration in January 2025<\/a> rescinded a \u201cvictim-centered\u201d approach that discouraged ICE agents from detaining immigrants with pending U and T visa applications.<\/p>\n

In a notice dated May 15, USCIS informed Zavala and his legal team that \u201cthe evidence demonstrates your petition for U nonimmigrant status is bona fide\u201d and that he warranted a \u201cfavorable exercise of discretion\u201d for deferred action and employment authorization.<\/p>\n

Attorneys from law firm Aldea PJC representing Zavala say the bona fide determination is a \u201chuge victory for him and his family,\u201d and that his \u201ccontinuing detention is now even more unlawful.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDespite 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,\u201d Aldea said in an emailed announcement.<\/p>\n

Bridget Cambria, lead attorney in Zavala\u2019s case, said she has submitted a request to ICE for an official stay of removal and for Zavala\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n

Judge Stephanie Haines from the Western District of Pennsylvania is expected to issue a ruling on Zavala\u2019s case sometime before June 1. She will consider Zavala\u2019s newly approved bona fide status, but ICE could release Zavala at any time without waiting for the judge\u2019s decision, Cambria said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe determination of whether to stay removal for someone who has deferred action, has employment authorization, and is a cooperating victim, it\u2019s a no-brainer,\u201d Cambria said, adding that Zavala has no criminal history. \u201cThey should do it, and it shouldn\u2019t take so long. They make decisions every day to release people from custody.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\u2019s wife because her application is still pending).<\/p>\n

The Berks County District Attorney\u2019s Office certified the couple\u2019s U visa applications. USCIS received Zavala\u2019s application in January 2026, according to court filings.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

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\u2019s attorneys argue ICE wrongly treated him as immediately deportable and failed to consider his pending humanitarian application.<\/p>\n

Zavala\u2019s wife told Spotlight PA that her husband\u2019s bona fide determination is \u201cgood news\u201d after all that her family has been through. She\u2019s waiting for information about when he could be released from ICE custody.<\/p>\n

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\u2019s birth certificate, so she can secure a passport for the child, who is a U.S. citizen.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe fear is that Erasmo and I get deported and the child would have to stay here,\u201d she said in an interview conducted in Spanish. \u201cWho would the girl stay with?\u201d<\/p>\n

BEFORE YOU GO\u2026 If you learned something from this article, pay it forward and contribute to Spotlight PA at spotlightpa.org\/donate<\/a>. Spotlight PA is funded by foundations and readers like you<\/a> who are committed to accountability journalism that gets results.<\/p>\n

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\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"This story was produced by the Berks County bureau of Spotlight PA, an independent, nonpartisan newsroom. Sign up…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":201907,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[139,28,29,128,130,129,1478,432],"class_list":["post-201906","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-reading","tag-news","tag-pennsylvania","tag-pennsylvania-news","tag-reading-city","tag-reading-city-headlines","tag-reading-city-news","tag-spotlight-pa","tag-top-stories-tmc"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/201906","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=201906"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/201906\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/201907"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=201906"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=201906"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=201906"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}