Portland ‘Dreamer’ to be released

A Washington judge on Thursday ruled that he will allow a Portland man arrested last month by federal immigration officers to be released from custody. His lawyers say they believe he will post bond and be released within hours.

The judge set a $10,000 bond for Emmanuel Ayala Frutos during an immigration court hearing Thursday at the Northwest Detention Center in Tacoma, said Nick Hesterberg, one of his attorneys.

It’s not clear if there will be any future hearings regarding his immigration status.

Ayala Frutos, 21, was arrested at his North Portland home on March 26. His family and Oregon politicians have called for his release in the weeks since. Relatives worried he wasn’t receiving physical and mental health care to help him manage his bipolar disorder and recover from a car crash.

He was a recipient of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, a program that defers deportation for undocumented immigrants brought to the United States as children.

Ayala Frutos has lived in Portland since he was 6, but his deferment expired two weeks before his arrest, his family said. They said he was in the process of re-applying.

The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has said federal agents arrested him because of his criminal history. He was convicted in February in Clark County for displaying a weapon and possession of a dangerous weapon. The ACLU of Oregon said the charge stemmed from him possessing a butterfly knife.