Valley families demand justice for mothers detained by ICE

ICE agents are detaining people attending routine immigration appointments, such as applying for green cards at the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) office in downtown Fresno.

This situation has been denounced by community leaders and families, as reported by Daniela Rodríguez, a UC Berkeley fellow and reporter for Radio Bilingüe.

In Fresno, state and federal leaders, along with mayors from several cities in California’s Central Valley and family members of detained individuals, denounced at a press conference the detention of María Francisca Villanueva Caballero, a mother who has lived in Firebaugh for more than 25 years. In addition to María, other families of mothers detained by ICE were present and shared their testimonies.

State Assemblywoman Esmeralda Soria, organizer of the press conference, demands an immediate review of María Caballero’s case and that of the other mothers.

“We are here to support them. We are hearing about these cases where families are being arrested and detained and sent to detention in California City.”

She says that María Caballero was detained when she attended her final interview to obtain permanent residency. Her son, Omar, read a letter he and his siblings wrote about his mother’s detention.

To say that our mother is the pillar of our family, she is truly the pillar of each of our lives. All of us have built successful lives centered on caring for others. The love we feel in our careers is based on the love and faith our mother had in us and our goals. We ask ICE to use its discretionary power to release my mother and all the other parents and loved ones who find themselves in this position. For example, Maria del Carmen, also from Madera, California.”

María del Carmen, from Madera, is another mother who was detained when she went with her lawyer to an immigration status follow-up appointment. Her husband, Juan Miguel Romo, says she is also detained at the California City detention center and fears for his wife’s well-being.

“She’s very depressed; she hasn’t wanted to eat.”

María del Carmen, originally from Mexico, has been in the United States for more than 20 years and has no criminal record. Her husband, José, reports that the California City facilities are in poor condition and that the detention has affected him emotionally and financially. His two children still don’t know their mother is detained, and it pains José to tell them.

“I don’t want to tell them because I don’t want to burn that memory into my children’s memories. They don’t deserve this, nor do my wife, nor I. We’re trying to do this the best we can.” The most legitimate thing we can do is simply what we’ve tried to do: resolve her immigration status.”

José tells us that María has a preliminary hearing before a judge on October 20, but he fears that, due to the overcrowding in the courts, she won’t receive a fair or prompt process.

Leticia Navarrés, a San Joaquín resident for almost 40 years and another of the detained mothers, was represented by her son, Steven Rodríguez, who explained the conditions she’s in.

“Just the other day, when it rained, her cell was being flooded by rain leaking from the roof, and that facility is grossly understaffed; most of the people there don’t receive the care they need. There are many people there who have mental illnesses and medical issues, and they are not receiving the attention they deserve.”

Steven says that recently, when it rained, a lot of water accumulated in Leticia’s cell due to leaks in the ceiling. He explains that the facility is severely understaffed, and many people with mental or physical health issues do not receive the care they need. He also points out that the women have no privacy and are monitored by male guards for long periods. His mother has even had to translate for others, as the facility lacks adequate translation services.

Present at the press conference, U.S. Congressman Jim Costa from California criticized the new guidelines, which he said facilitate arrests during immigration interviews. His colleague Adam Gray, also a U.S. Congressman from California, called this practice “unacceptable” and called for transparency. And State Senator Anna Caballero, who is not related to the detained woman, María Caballero, called this detention a betrayal of the justice system. She denounced ICE’s action as an act of intimidation and a violation of her rights, undermining the trust of her family. Immigrants in government.

In the end, Assemblywoman Soria said that Immigration doesn’t want to communicate with them about the detained mothers, but she highlighted what the group is demanding from the federal government.

“We want immigration reform.”