Who is Maria Bonilla? Mom of 4 detained by ICE after 24 years in US
A woman who has been living in the United States for over two decades was arrested by federal immigration agents at a downtown courtroom in Atlanta.
Maria Bonilla was arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on May 8 at the Atlanta Immigration Court. Her daughter said the arrest happened because of a problem with her immigration paperwork. Maria is still in custody, as per a Newsweek report.
"She came not knowing how to read or write, and to this day, she cannot do either due to never having had an education, even when she was a little girl," Magali Bonilla said.
Maria came to the US from El Salvador in 2001 when she was 17 years old. For the past 10 years, she had been checking in regularly with immigration officials. Her daughter said Maria was once jailed for driving without a license. She currently has a work permit.
Maria is now being held at Stewart Detention Center, one of the largest immigration jails in the US. It is run by a private company called CoreCivic.
On the day she was detained, Maria went to immigration court with her daughters. Magali said she was taken because of paperwork problems caused by mixed advice from her lawyer.
"My sister and I always go with her to every reporting date she has," she said. "I was with my mother when they were taking her fingerprints and DNA, and shortly after, we got separated.
"The lawyers had said that she did not need a passport, but she sent them pictures many times of her passport, and the passport was in the checklist, and it was needed in the paperwork."
After Maria was taken, immigration officers told the family to bring her actual passport and send in a new form. The family said the new form was accepted, but Maria is still not home.
The Bonilla family is heartbroken over the separation. This happened during President Donald Trump's strict immigration rules. The White House has said that people living in the US without legal papers are considered 'criminals.'
Maria has four children: Araceli Anahi Bonilla (22), Magali Avigail Bonilla (21), Henrin Alexander Bonilla Bonilla (17), and Tatiana Jaqueline Bonilla (15). Magali said the situation has been very hard on the family.
"My siblings took it hard, and I had to take a semester off from school due to having to work more hours and help my younger siblings," she said. "I was about to enter nursing school, but because of this happening, I have to put a hold on my studies.
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"My brother recently also had a graduation, but due to our mother not being there, it did not feel real because she was at my older sister's and my graduation. No family should be going through such a heartbreak."
Before she was detained, Maria worked at Gold Creek as a tender cutter. The local community has started a GoFundMe to help the family with legal costs. Other people at Stewart Detention Center are helping Maria talk to a lawyer, since she cannot read or write.
"No one should have a time limit on talking and visiting their mother," Magali said. "It has been extremely hard seeing my mom through a glass window and talking to her through a phone like she was a criminal. It is just hard."
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