STAFFORD COUNTY, Va. — The daughter of a Stafford County Public Schools employee says U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detained her mother earlier this month during a routine agency check-in, even though she was enrolled in a federal supervision program and actively pursuing legal permanent residency.
Laura Martinez said her mother, Mirna Benitez, was taken into custody early Sunday, Dec. 7, at an ICE office in North Chesterfield, Virginia, while completing a mandatory check-in under ICE’s Intensive Supervision Appearance Program, known as ISAP.
“I thought she was OK at first, but then there were two officers, and she was handcuffed,” Martinez said.
Benitez, who works as a custodian for Stafford County Public Schools, had been employed with an expired work permit, according to her daughter. Martinez said her mother typically reported to ICE once or twice a year and was recently informed she would need to begin weekly check-ins after being placed in a different supervision program.
Martinez said ICE officials told her mother she had not met with an officer in almost a year and that the agency was modifying check-in schedules due to upcoming holiday closures.
Benitez immigrated to the United States from El Salvador more than a decade ago, Martinez said. She was in the process of seeking a green card through her husband, who is a U.S. citizen.
Following her detention, Benitez was transferred among several ICE detention facilities across the country, Martinez said, adding that the conditions were poor and the treatment was severe.
“My mom described it as torture,” Martinez said.
Benitez was released from ICE custody on Thursday but was sent back to El Salvador, according to her daughter.
Martinez said she feels relieved that her mother is no longer detained but is struggling with the separation.
“I was finally able to sleep peacefully, but I still haven’t processed the fact that my mom’s not with me — physically with me,” she said.
Martinez said attorneys have informed the family it could take roughly four years before her mother can legally return to the United States. They have launched a GoFundMe to help cover legal fees for the attorneys handling her mother’s case, and Martinez said she is now also responsible for the mortgage and other expenses.
“With the current administration and so many people trying to process their documents, it’s going to take a while,” she said.
The case echoes another incident reported in October involving a Maryland man who was detained by ICE days after a routine ISAP check-in. Dania Bautista said her husband, a father of three with a valid work permit and pending immigration paperwork, was arrested in Bowie, Maryland. He remains in ICE custody in California.
“It’s not fair how she was treated or how any of them are treated,” Martinez said.
Martinez said she is uncertain about what comes next for her family and questioned ICE’s characterization of individuals detained through the supervision program as threats to public safety.
“My mom works for the county, cleaning schools,” she said. “I don’t understand how that makes her a danger to the community.”
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