{"id":203939,"date":"2026-05-27T22:43:09","date_gmt":"2026-05-27T22:43:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/203939\/"},"modified":"2026-05-27T22:43:09","modified_gmt":"2026-05-27T22:43:09","slug":"berks-grandfather-who-aided-investigation-of-his-daughters-murder-gets-win-in-ice-detention-fight-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/203939\/","title":{"rendered":"Berks grandfather who aided investigation of his daughter\u2019s murder gets win in ICE detention fight | News"},"content":{"rendered":"

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

READING \u2014 A Berks County grandfather who helped law enforcement
\ninvestigate the killing of his daughter is still in ICE detention.
\nBut a new finding by a federal immigration agency that he should be
\nat least temporarily protected from deportation strengthens the
\ncase for his release, his attorneys say.<\/p>\n

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

U visas are a form of immigration relief created by Congress for
\nvictims and witnesses of crimes who help police investigate and
\nprosecute serious crimes. The program offers a pathway to lawful
\npermanent residency to eligible applicants.<\/p>\n

However, the Trump administration in January
\n2025<\/a> rescinded a \u201cvictim-centered\u201d approach that discouraged
\nICE agents from detaining immigrants with pending U and T visa
\napplications.<\/p>\n

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

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

\u201cDespite his grant of deferred action, Erasmo spent his 51st
\nbirthday in Moshannon Valley Processing Center last week away from
\nhis wife, surviving daughter and surviving granddaughter,” Aldea
\nsaid in an emailed announcement.<\/p>\n

Bridget Cambria, lead attorney in Zavala\u2019s case, said she has
\nsubmitted a request to ICE for an official stay of removal and for
\nZavala\u2019s release from custody, urging the agency to honor the
\ndeportation protections granted to him by USCIS. ICE had not
\nresponded to that request as of Friday afternoon.<\/p>\n

Judge Stephanie Haines from the Western District of Pennsylvania
\nis expected to issue a ruling on Zavala\u2019s case sometime before June
\n1. She will consider Zavala\u2019s newly approved bona fide status, but
\nICE could release Zavala at any time without waiting for the
\njudge\u2019s decision, Cambria said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe determination of whether to stay removal for someone who
\nhas deferred action, has employment authorization, and is a
\ncooperating victim, it’s a no-brainer,\u201d Cambria said, adding that
\nZavala has no criminal history. \u201cThey should do it, and it
\nshouldn’t take so long. They make decisions every day to release
\npeople from custody.\u201d<\/p>\n

Zavala and his wife applied for U visas after their daughter,
\nSelena, was murdered by her abuser, who also shot and nearly killed
\ntheir two-month-old granddaughter. (Spotlight PA is not naming
\nZavala\u2019s wife because her application is still pending).<\/p>\n

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

Despite following the correct process and disclosing prior
\nimmigration violations, as required by U visa application rules,
\nZavala was detained by ICE in mid-April.<\/p>\n

According to court filings and other records, ICE identified
\nZavala for enforcement after USCIS flagged him as an applicant with
\na prior immigration order following his biometrics appointment.
\nZavala\u2019s attorneys argue ICE wrongly treated him as immediately
\ndeportable and failed to consider his pending humanitarian
\napplication.<\/p>\n

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

In the meantime, she is trying to be prepared if the couple has
\nto leave the country. She is currently in the process of correcting
\na name error on her granddaughter’s birth certificate, so she can
\nsecure 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
\nhave to stay here,\u201d she said in an interview conducted in Spanish.
\n\u201cWho would the girl stay with?\u201d<\/p>\n

BEFORE YOU GO\u2026 If you learned
\nsomething from this article, pay it forward and contribute to
\nSpotlight PA at spotlightpa.org\/donate<\/a>.
\nSpotlight PA is funded by foundations and readers
\nlike you<\/a> who are committed to accountability
\njournalism that gets results.<\/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":203940,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[31,13439,139,50,16248,128,130,129],"class_list":["post-203939","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-reading","tag-crime","tag-lycoming","tag-news","tag-politics","tag-presidential","tag-reading-city","tag-reading-city-headlines","tag-reading-city-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/203939","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=203939"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/203939\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/203940"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=203939"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=203939"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=203939"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}