ICE detains mother and daughter in Florida after car crash
In central Florida, officers of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detained 39-year-old Ecuadorian-born Grace Stephanie Calero Cabanilla and her 19-year-old daughter, Julianna Mia Carriel Calero, after a car accident and their discharge from hospital. This was reported by The Guardian World.
The accident and detention
The crash occurred on August 20 in Poinciana, Florida. According to Calero Cabanilla's cousin Jonathan Bravo, she was driving to work with her daughter when another vehicle struck the passenger side of their car. Bravo said the vehicle rolled over four times and that the women “almost died.”
After the crash, the mother and daughter were taken by ambulance to HCA Florida Poinciana Hospital and placed in separate rooms. Bravo told Newsweek that a Polk County sheriff's deputy began questioning Calero Cabanilla about her immigration status.
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The parties' positions
A spokesperson for the Polk County sheriff's office told Newsweek that, during the crash investigation, law enforcement determined that the Ecuadorian driver had remained in the United States after her visa expired several years earlier. According to the sheriff's office, the daughter's visa had also expired. ICE issued detainer requests for both women, and after they were discharged from hospital, they were taken into custody and transported to the Polk County jail.
A video released by Calero Cabanilla's sister, Gia Calero, and shown by CNN captured the women crying and hugging on a hospital bed while law enforcement officers tried to separate them. The footage also shows Calero Cabanilla being led out of the room with her hands behind her back.
Bravo stated on a fundraising page that Calero Cabanilla has a pending asylum case and a work permit, while her daughter's visa is valid until 2030. According to Newsweek, neither woman had a criminal record.
