A Massachusetts woman who was arrested Tuesday after allegedly assaulting a man clad in a “Make America Great Again” hat is entering legal proceedings that may result in her deportation, an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) spokesman said Wednesday.
Rosiane Santos, 41, is “an unlawfully present citizen of Brazil” who “entered into removal proceedings in federal immigration court” after being arrested in Falmouth, Mass., ICE spokesman John Mohan said in a statement.
Santos has plead not guilty to assault and battery and disorderly conduct and was released to await her court date, according to NBC.
Santos was captured on video grabbing and trying to remove a MAGA hat being worn by a male patron at a Mexican restaurant in Falmouth on February 15. When police arrived, they witnessed Santos strike the man in the head. She then told the officers that the man should be not permitted to wear the hat in a Mexican establishment, according to the police report.
“All I said was ‘I can wear this hat where ever I want this is America,’” Bryton Turner, who claims he was the man assaulted in the bar, told NBC.
Santos’s attorney told Boston.com that her client is married to a U.S. citizen and is in the process of obtaining a green card. According to the attorney, Santos’s green card application will not be considered by an immigration judge, rather than ICE officials.
“That is the only change this arrest has cost Rosiane in terms of her immigration,” the attorney said.