Sheboygan Falls mother detained by ICE again after check-in
Sheboygan Falls mother detained by ICE again after check-in
An undocumented Sheboygan Falls mother was detained by ICE during a scheduled Milwaukee immigration check-in months after a previous release, leaving her family worried she may not be allowed to return home.
SHEBOYGAN FALLS, Wis. - A Sheboygan Falls family says they are struggling after their mother was unexpectedly taken into U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody during a routine immigration check-in in Milwaukee.
What they're saying:
Crystal Aguilar says the last 24 hours have been filled with uncertainty after her mother, Elvira Benitez Suarez, was detained Tuesday at the ICE office in Milwaukee.
"Where is my mom like? How can I possibly sleep? If I don't know where she is like? I haven't heard from her," said Crystal Aguilar.
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Aguilar says she has been anxiously waiting for answers about her mother’s safety. Benitez Suarez, a native of Mexico, was detained during what was expected to be a routine immigration check-in.
"I just want to know that my mom is safe and where she is," Aguilar said. "Your mom's falling apart on the other end, like, miles away, like you can't even give her a hug or make her feel better."
Aguilar says the situation is bringing back painful memories. She says her mother was detained by ICE in July after a wrong turn during a road trip led her into Canada. Benitez Suarez spent six months in ICE custody before being released.
"The first time around like she got through it, and she did it, but I just feel like another time. I feel like she won't be able to handle it," Aguilar said.
What we know:
According to Aguilar, her mother came to the United States at 15 years old, fleeing violence and sexual abuse in Mexico. She has lived in Wisconsin for 35 years and has four U.S.-born children, two of whom are under the age of 12.
The family says Benitez Suarez has no criminal history.
Immigration attorney Marc Christopher says his legal team is working to file action in federal district court in hopes of securing her release while the government appeals her immigration case.
"She won her case after being detained for six months [and] was released. The government appealed her case, and they have chosen to reincarcerate her in other words, to pick her up away from her family while the appeal is pending, and that appeal can take up to a year, and there's no reason," said Christopher.
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For now, the family says they are trying to stay strong as they hope she can return home.
"We want her back home, and we don't think that this is fair, and we just want things done right," Aguilar said.
Family members say they were later able to hear from Benitez Suarez on Wednesday afternoon. They say she told them she is being held in Kentucky and is scared she may not be able to return home.
Dig deeper:
FOX6 News reached out to ICE for comment but had not received a response.
Milwaukee Common Council votes on 'ICE Out' resolution
Milwaukee's Common Council took a vote on Tuesday to say ICE isn't welcome, and their debate came with a warning from the city attorney.
The Source: FOX6 spoke with Elvira Benitez Suarez, as well as an immigration attorney.