Latest news with #TampaBayImmigrantSolidarityNetwork
Yahoo
14-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Organizers to protest detention of Tampa Bay mother Saturday
Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents detained Rosa Patishtan-Gomez, a 30-year-old mother, in Tampa earlier this month. She's now across the state in a Pompano Beach detention facility, according to the agency's detainee locator system. Patishtan-Gomez is scheduled for a hearing next week, which could decide if she's legally allowed to stay in Tampa Bay. But her family, advocates and community members are rallying this weekend in support — and to get her home. The Party for Socialism and Liberation Tampa Bay and the Tampa Bay Immigrant Solidarity Network have planned a protest for Saturday outside the Pinellas County Jail at 4:30 p.m. Organizers said in a news release that they are demanding that Patishtan-Gomez, who has a 2-year-old and 10-month-old, be returned home. They are also calling for an end to mass deportations and for the removal of immigration officers from the community. 'All they do is racially profile and hurt the people we love most,' Ruth Beltran, community organizer, said in the news release. Patishtan-Gomez immigrated to the United States from Mexico five years ago and recently began working in construction to support her family. She is still breastfeeding her 10-month-old, and protesters say her arrest is in violation of a directive Immigration and Customs Enforcement implemented in 2021. Officers under most circumstances will not detain, arrest or take into custody people who are pregnant, postpartum or nursing, per the directive. Organizers also said her bond has been set at $6,500, and officials have not provided her with a translator. Before officials took Patishtan-Gomez to the Miami area, she was held at the Pinellas County Jail, which, similar to every Florida county as of February, is in a program partnership with Immigration and Customs Enforcement. 'We condemn the Pinellas County Sheriff's department, the State of Florida, and I.C.E. for their blatant violation of Rosa's legal and human rights— no person should endure the inhumanity of family separations," Beltran's statement said. Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri is also a member of the State Immigration Enforcement Council. He said last month 200 inmates were sleeping on the floor at the jail because of the influx of immigrant detainees, WFTV9 reported. And this month, the outlet reported state Attorney General James Uthmeier acknowledged the issue and was working to address it. The Sheriff's Office said in a statement Friday that jail capacity is currently stable. 'As to the demonstration tomorrow, people are free to peacefully demonstrate, and we have no concern with peaceful public expression,' Sergeant Amanda Sinni wrote in an email.
Yahoo
08-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Family holds press conference after ICE detains 22-year-old
SARASOTA, Fla. (WFLA) — The family of 22-year-old Maria 'Lulu' Martinez is holding a press conference after the recent college graduate was detained by ICE last month. Martinez came to the Sarasota area with her family from Mexico at 12 years old and recently graduated with an associate's degree in business administration. Her family said she was transferred to the ICE detention center in Miami, Krome, and then to a facility in Texas, and they're now unable to visit her. A press release from the Tampa Bay Immigrant Solidarity Network said that Martinez is undocumented, but didn't give specific information about her legal status in the U.S. She was arrested on May 21 and booked in the Sarasota County jail. The press conference will be streamed in the live player above. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
08-06-2025
- Yahoo
Undocumented Sarasota college student detained by ICE in Texas, family pleads for her return
The Brief The family of an undocumented Sarasota college student who was detained by ICE in Texas is pleading for her return. Her family says on May 21st Maria was pulled over by North Port Police for making an illegal U-turn. The Tampa Bay Immigrant Solidarity Network is hosting a rally and protest on Saturday, June 14th at 4:30 p.m. outside the Pinellas County Jail. SARASOTA, Fla. - The family of an undocumented Sarasota college student is pleading for her to come back home after she was arrested and taken into ICE custody. "We want her back. She's not a criminal," Maria' sister Kasandra Martinez said. "We didn't ask to be here, but it was God's plan." The backstory Her parents admit they brought Maria and some of her siblings to the U.S. illegally when Maria was 12. While she was undocumented, her family says she got an Associate's degree in business administration and worked at a restaurant. "She's hard-working. She went to school here. She has a career. She deserves to be here," Kasandra said. Her family says on May 21st Maria was pulled over by North Port Police for making an illegal U-turn. She was arrested for driving without a license. Before she bonded out, her mom says police called ICE after learning she was undocumented. What they're saying "I always tell her we know that that is considered a crime, but she's not killing, or robbing or hurting anyone. She was simply on her way home from work," Maria's mom Lourdes Martinez said. According to her family, she's never been in trouble or arrested before. Timeline After her arrest she was transported from Tampa to a detention center in Miami. Her family says she's now being held at a ICE Detention Facility in Raymondville, Texas. READ: Hillsborough County installing AEDs at 25 parks and sports complexes They say Maria has a hearing next week when they say their attorney will ask for her to be released on bond, but according to the family she can still be deported back to Mexico at any minute. "I miss her every day. I need her with me. I don't need her to be in another place where we can't be together," Kasandra said. What's next As part of the Martinez family's efforts to bring Maria back home, the Tampa Bay Immigrant Solidarity Network will be hosting a special rally and protest on Saturday, June 14th at 4:30 p.m. outside the Pinellas County Jail. CLICK HERE:>>>Follow FOX 13 on YouTube The Source Information for this story was gathered by FOX 13's Jordan Bowen. STAY CONNECTED WITH FOX 13 TAMPA: Download the FOX Local app for your smart TV Download FOX Local mobile app: Apple | Android Download the FOX 13 News app for breaking news alerts, latest headlines Download the SkyTower Radar app Sign up for FOX 13's daily newsletter
Yahoo
03-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
After Tampa mom deported to Cuba, Castor urges federal action
Five years ago, Heidy Sánchez Tejeda crossed the U.S. southern border. Last week, she was deported to Cuba after she was arrested during an immigration interview in Tampa, separating her from her husband, Carlos Yuniel Valle, and their 1-year-old daughter, Kailyn. On Friday, U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor, D–Tampa, met privately with Valle to affirm her support and explore possible legal and humanitarian avenues to help Sánchez Tejeda return. Castor also met with two other women whose partners were deported to a prison in El Salvador in March. Castor sent a letter this week urging President Donald Trump to grant humanitarian parole for Sánchez Tejada. Castor denounced the way immigration authorities arrested Sánchez Tejeda during a regularly scheduled check-in at the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement office in Tampa on April 22. 'The separation of mother and daughter was so sudden and traumatic that their infant daughter was taken to the hospital,' Castor wrote. 'The baby was still breastfeeding at the time your administration tore them apart, and the baby's ongoing health issues require her mother's return to the U.S. as soon as possible.' Castor said the treatment of the Sánchez Tejeda-Valle family was 'a deep stain and is repugnant to American values and constitutional protections.' 'Ms. Sánchez is entitled to due process, and her husband and daughter (both U.S. citizens) deserve to be treated with the dignity we value as Americans,' wrote Castor. 'Due to the suffocating oppression in Cuba and lack of essentials like food and clean water, Ms. Sánchez should not be trafficked to a country where she will be harmed and suffer.' Sánchez Tejeda's case has drawn the attention of local leaders, advocates and nonprofits who defend immigrant rights. Last weekend, dozens of supporters gathered in downtown Tampa to show solidarity with Sánchez and her family. One of the organizers, Ruth Beltran, an advocate with the Tampa Bay Immigrant Solidarity Network, said the demonstration was a call to action for justice and dignity. 'No mother should be ripped apart from their child like Heidy was. It is inhumane and unacceptable. Too many immigrant mothers are now faced with this reality,' said Beltran. 'We stand together to demand dignity for mothers and children confronting the cruelty of family separation and violation of basic human rights.' Sánchez Tejeda first came to the United States in 2019 under a temporary stay permit known as the I-220B form, a permit that does not grant legal status or provide protection from deportation. She missed an immigration hearing while she was waiting in Mexico and was ordered deported in absentia. When she later entered the United States, Sánchez Tejeda was detained for nine months in an immigration facility. She was released under the condition to regularly check in with immigration authorities, an order she complied with and followed. Sánchez Tejeda married Valle, who is a naturalized U.S. citizen, four years ago. He filed a petition for permanent legal status for his wife, but Valle said he never received a response from immigration authorities. Sánchez Tejeda's attorney, Claudia Canizares, launched a campaign on MoveOn to collect 3,000 signatures in solidarity with Sánchez Tejeda. So far, it has gathered 2,100 signatures. Canizares said the issue is not only about immigration. 'It is about compassion, family unity, and a child's right to her mother's care,' Canizares wrote in her petition drive. 'We ask that you act swiftly to correct this tragic separation and allow this family to heal together.' Valle said his family also tried to reach out to the office of U.S. Sen. Rick Scott last week through one of Sánchez Tejeda's cousins, Alonso Rodríguez, who's fluent in English. But Scott's office said in a letter that they were unable to assist. 'You may wish to speak with a private attorney, who can best answer any legal questions or concerns you have,' the letter stated. The emotional toll of the separation is growing by the day. During an interview through WhatsApp with the Tampa Bay Times on Friday morning, Sánchez Tejeda, who is living at her mother's house in Havana, said she can't sleep thinking about her daughter. 'It's very difficult to live this way, far from my daughter and my family,' said Sánchez Tejeda. 'My daughter needs me. My daughter is still breastfeeding.' Sánchez Tejeda described the pain of separation not only for herself, but for her daughter, who is too young to understand why her mother is gone. 'I am suffering, but so is my daughter, and that's what worries me the most. It's very hard because every time she sees me on the phone, she says, 'Mama come, Mama come!'' Sánchez Tejeda said. 'I can't explain to her that I'm far away and can't be with her. It breaks my heart.'
