A Lyons, IL family is feeling the effects of the new administration’s immigration changes. Five days in, on January 26, armed federal agents detained a 47-year-old undocumented Mexican immigrant who has lived in the United States for almost 30 years. The man has no criminal record, only a removal order from 2004 after he visited his father in Mexico and returned to his home and life in the U.S. without applying for asylum or citizenship.
The man’s attorney calls this a “collateral arrest” since ICE was not specifically looking for him but rather encountered him during an immigration raid. The man’s son, who witnessed agents detaining his father that day in January, says his family has not been the same since. Not only was the man the primary financial provider for his family, but he also left behind a wife battling breast cancer.