Joel Banner Baird

Free Press Staff Writer

Addison County dairy worker and civil-rights activist Victor Diaz, 24, was ordered released from detention Wednesday by a U.S. Immigration Court judge, according to Diaz's attorney, Matthew Cameron.

Diaz was arrested by federal authorities April 21 at a Stowe restaurant and charged with residing illegally in the U.S.

A deportation case against Diaz, who is a Mexican national and has lived in this country for six years, remains ongoing, Cameron said — but Judge Paul Gagnon's decision to release the Vermonter on the lowest possible bail of $1,500 supports arguments that Diaz is neither a danger to others nor a flight risk.

"We presented evidence that Victor has a great reputation, nationwide, and has great ties in the community," Cameron said. "I know the judge listened to the facts and looked at the person in front of him."

Diaz remained in a Dover, New Hampshire county jail Wednesday afternoon while the logistics of his release were being arranged, he added.

Cameron said he is working with federal authorities to lower the priority of court proceedings against Diaz.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement initially cited a DUI charge in November against Diaz as grounds for fast-tracking his deportation.

Nearly 2,000 signatures petitioning for Diaz' release were presented at Wednesday's hearing, according to a news release from Burlington-based Migrant Justice, a nonprofit with whom Diaz plays a leadership role.

The office of presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt. submitted a letter supporting Diaz to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, wrote Migrant Justice staffer Will Lambek in an email to the Free Press.

Diaz was instrumental in the group's “Milk with Dignity” campaign, which strives to improve labor and housing conditions at dairy farms through farmworker-approved codes of conduct, Lambek said.

Supporters are petitioning ICE to drop its case against Diaz.

“We will not rest until Victor can live and work in the state of Vermont free from fear of deportation," wrote Migrant Justice spokesman Enrique Balcazar. "As a community, we are joining together to call for an end to all deportations.”

This article was first published online Wednesday, May 4, 2016.

Contact Joel Banner Baird at (802) 660-1843 or joelbaird@freepressmedia.com

Follow him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/vtgoingup

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