6-year-old girl detained by ICE along with mom, brother

By Adi Guajardo

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    MANHATTAN, New York (WCBS) — Three family members, including a 6-year-old girl, were detained by United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents after what was supposed to be a routine immigration hearing in Lower Manhattan.

Efforts are underway to try to get the family out of ICE custody.

Mom and daughter sent to Texas detention center, son to N.J. Mariposa Benitez, a founder of the grassroots organization Mi Tlalli, says on Tuesday, ICE agents detained a woman named Martha, her daughter Dayra and her 19-year-old son Manuel at 26 Federal Plaza.

“They came together as a family escaping the violence that they have experienced in Ecuador,” Benitez said.

Manuel just graduated from high school in June, and Dayra is believed to be the youngest student detained by ICE in New York City. She is at least the fourth city public school student to be detained by ICE this year.

Benitez says Martha and Dayra are now at an ICE detention center in Dilley, Texas, and Manuel was transferred to the Delaney Hall detention facility in Newark, New Jersey.

“I’m a licensed clinical social worker, and the impact of family separation on their mental health is something that they will not be able to recover from in many years to come,” Benitez said.

The Department of Homeland Security released a statement saying, in part, that Martha and her children entered the U.S. illegally in December 2022.

“They have all received final orders of removal from an immigration judge,” DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement.

Loved ones feel helpless as family is held by ICE

Another of Martha’s sons, who lives in Queens and did not want to share his name, said he felt destroyed when he found out his mom, his sister and his brother were detained.

In Spanish, he told CBS News New York his mom admitted she was afraid of going to court, and he feels helpless.

He said his mother’s hugs brought him joy and peace, and his sister inherited that warmth and reassurance.

Martha’s boyfriend said he spoke with her recently, and she told him she’s afraid of being deported and of the gangs and danger back in Ecuador.

Martha’s son said he feels powerless and the most painful part is not knowing when he’ll be reunited with the rest of his family again.

Martha’s loved ones are calling for the family’s reunion and release.

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