El Paso Walmart shooting survivor deported after traffic stop

by Staff

Sat, January 30th 2021, 12:01 AM UTC

FILE - In this Aug. 4, 2019 file photo, a Texas State Trooper walks back to his car while providing security outside the Walmart store in the aftermath of a mass shooting in El Paso, Texas. A gunman who said he was targeting Mexicans and killed 22 people at a Walmart store in El Paso, Texas, over the summer has been indicted on federal hate crimes charges, a person familiar with the matter told The Associated Press. (AP Photo/Andres Leighton)

The Cielo Vista Walmart reopened about three months after the El Paso mass shooting. Nov. 14, 2019. (Source: KFOX14/CBS4){p}{/p}

Before attending a "Get Out the Vote" rally in El Paso, Texas on the first day of early voting in the state, Jill Biden visited the Grand Candela memorial honoring victims of the Aug. 3, 2019 shooting at Cielo Vista Walmart. Oct. 13, 2020 (KFOX14/CBS4)

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FILE - In this Aug. 4, 2019 file photo, a Texas State Trooper walks back to his car while providing security outside the Walmart store in the aftermath of a mass shooting in El Paso, Texas. A gunman who said he was targeting Mexicans and killed 22 people at a Walmart store in El Paso, Texas, over the summer has been indicted on federal hate crimes charges, a person familiar with the matter told The Associated Press. (AP Photo/Andres Leighton)

EL PASO, Texas (KFOX14/CBS4) — A survivor of the El Paso Walmart shooting was deported after a traffic stop according to the Diocesan Migrant and Refugee Services.

"Rosa" is a survivor of the mass shooting at an El Paso Walmart on August 3, 2019. As a witness to the shooting, "Rosa" has been in contact with the El Paso District Attorney’s Office to serve as a witness in the case against the shooter.

On Wednesday Rosa was arrested during a traffic stop by the El Paso Police Department for two outstanding traffic citations from 2015.

She was booked into the El Paso County Jail and transferred to the custody of Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

ICE deported "Rosa" to Cd. Juarez Friday morning, where she remains. Rosa has no criminal history other than the two misdemeanor traffic citations that are over five years old, according to DMRS.

"Rosa" is one of the dozens of survivors from the August 3 shooting who are in the process of applying for a U-visa, a form of immigration relief for victims of certain crimes, according to DMRS.

“Rosa is a survivor of one of the most horrific events to ever take place in El Paso. She came forward and presented herself to both El Paso police and FBI officials to give a statement of what she saw on that fateful day. The information she has was sufficient for the District Attorney’s office to issue a certification that she has been helpful in the investigation. Despite having told this to the ICE officials who made the decision to deport her based on a years old deportation order, ICE officials in El Paso chose to remove her from the US, leaving her unsupported in Juarez. This decision amounts to a re-victimization of this young lady, who only came forward to help build the case against the shooter in the racist attack,” said Anna Hey, Deputy Director/Attorney at Law, of Diocesan Migrant and Refugee Services, and Supervisor of the Survivors of Crime Unit.

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