Leticia Nevares, who has lived in the United States for more than 35 years, was taken into custody by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) following a green card interview and has remained detained since mid-September, according to her family.
On a GoFundMe page created to cover her legal expenses, her son, Steven Rodriguez, described what happened. “After attending a scheduled appointment with immigration services to obtain a green card… she was handcuffed and transported to a detention center.”
He said the appointment was supposed to be “the final step in a long process to obtain legal residency,” a process to which relatives and community members had contributed.
Meanwhile, several media outlets report being unable to locate Nevares in ICE’s public detainee database, adding to the uncertainty surrounding her detention.
In response to the ongoing situation, Department of Homeland Security (DHS) spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin had earlier shared a statement with Newsweek defending the administration’s stance: “Under Secretary [Kristi] Noem’s leadership, we are fulfilling President Trump and the American people’s mandate to arrest and remove criminal illegal immigrants to secure America. Secretary Noem has given ICE a green light to target the worst of the worst and conduct the largest criminal alien removal operation in American history.”
However, Nevares’ family contends that these assertions do not align with her situation, noting she has no criminal record in the United States. “She’s like a model citizen, and she’s being treated like a criminal,” her son, Steven Rodriguez, said.
After her detention, the family reported in an Oct. 3 GoFundMe update that Nevares was initially held at a facility in Bakersfield, California, before being transferred to another in California City, operated by the private prison company CoreCivic.
Multiple news reports describe harsh conditions at the remote site, reopened in late August on the grounds of a former state prison in the Mojave Desert. The Guardian quoted a detainee facing removal to Cambodia, Sokhean Keo, as saying: “This place is designed to break us.”
During his campaign, President Donald Trump vowed “the largest mass deportation operation” in U.S. history, and both undocumented and documented immigrants — including visa and green card holders — have been detained, Newsweek reported, noting that other green card applicants have been apprehended during required interviews. The White House has also said certain public statements may trigger additional scrutiny of green card applications.
Nevares’ arrest has also resonated locally.
On GoFundMe, her son wrote that the elder-care aide’s absence is felt across the community. “Through countless hours of service — helping local food banks every week, participating in fundraisers, caring for sick neighbors, and accompanying elders at the end of life — the whole town feels her absence.”
Nevares’ next hearing is set for Oct. 28.
The legal defense fundraiser surpassed its initial $16,000 goal, reaching more than $25,500 by Friday evening, according to the GoFundMe page. Newsweek stated that it had not received a response from ICE to its requests for comment and could not confirm Nevares’ location using the agency’s public detainee search tool.
Source: https://www.newsweek.com
