Arleth Pacheco says her life changed dramatically when her father was arrested by ICE agents.
Gerardo Pacheco has lived in the U.S. for three decades. He’s worked in construction, raised three U.S.-born children and helped care for his wife…who is battling cancer.
Pacheco told KVCR back in January her father and uncle were on their way to work in San Bernardino when a truck began following them. She said they were eventually pulled over.
Then they asked my uncle if he was a citizen, if he had papers, and he did. But my dad didn’t. My dad told them that he didn’t, but that he was in the process of getting his papers. And then from there, my uncle said that they let him go, but that they told my dad to turn around and put his hands behind his back, just like that. They just took him away. He was just on his way to work.
Pacheco says her father was detained at the Adelanto ICE Processing Center for several days before being transferred to a detention facility near Houston.
Her father’s attorney filed a request asking an immigration judge to allow him to remain in the U.S.
Pacheco says deporting him would create severe hardship…especially because her stepmom relies on him for care and support.
Pacheco said her dad’s petition was denied, but he’s filed an appeal with the Board of Immigration Appeals.
VICTORIA: I wanted to ask you, like throughout those weeks, like how did this impact you, and how were you able to still navigate trying to get him out, trying to get him released?
ARLETH PACHECO: I had to learn a lot, you know, about like immigration laws and how like our immigration system worked because starting off, I I literally didn't know anything about it, so I had to learn like you know new like legal terms and everything, and it was just-it was really confusing and very complicated.
Pacheco said her father was eventually released in June…after his attorney filed a habeas corpus petition to challenge his detention.
But her family had little time to prepare for his release…and weren’t there to welcome him.
PACHECO: “So we had to book a flight to go pick him up and get him from there in Texas…they didn't tell him like, oh, do you need like a ride back or - or a ticket back to California? Nah…they just released him there.”
The Pacheco family was eventually reunited with Gerardo. But for other families, the process of fighting for a loved one’s release is still ongoing.
On a recent Saturday in Riverside, friends and family gathered at a fundraiser to help cover the cost of Oliver Cruz's immigration bond.
His wife, Claudia Sotelo, says she's been through this before.
Sotelo’s father was detained by immigration authorities in December. Months later, her husband was also arrested during an immigration enforcement operation.
CLAUDIA SOTELO: “I think that at the moment I was very devastated, but I knew I couldn't just cry. I had to take action and basically get to work, because from experience with my dad previously, I knew that it wasn't going to be an easy step, and I knew it was going to take some time.”
Sotelo said Oliver was eventually granted bond.
But she questioned why it was set so high, especially because he has no criminal history.
CLAUDIA SOTELO: "I mean, he doesn't have any criminal history, you know, not even a speeding ticket, nothing. I don't know why it would be so high. From what my understanding, it was just because on my tax returns they said I made a good amount of money. I don't think that should have played a role in why his bond should be high."
ANTHONY VICTORIA: “That’s what the judge said?”
SOTELO: “Yeah…that’s what he said."
Bertie Hernandez…a deportation defense coordinator with the California Immigrant Youth Justice Alliance…says Sotelo reached out for help navigating the bond process.
Hernandez says many families are trying to understand a complicated process…while also dealing with the stress of having a loved one detained.
BERTIE HERNANDEZ: “Claudia was telling me, like, I don't know how to go about this. And I can understand how jarring and how disorienting this process is, as you are also, you know, trying to remain grounded, not only for yourself, for your family, for your loved one that's inside, but also you have all of these questions. These bond processes are not meant to be accessible for our communities.”
Hernandez says the cost of bond can create another barrier for families trying to reunite with their loved ones.
They say some families rely on savings, community fundraising or outside assistance to pay thousands of dollars for release.
BERTIE HERNANDEZ: “$12,000, that is an astronomical amount of money to pay for the liberation of your loved one…”
Claudia Sotelo says her father and husband’s detentions have shown her how quickly immigration enforcement can disrupt working families.
SOTELO: “Most of the people that are in there, you ask them how did they get you? ‘Oh, I was going to work.’
Just leave them alone. All they're doing is trying to provide for their families. All I can say is we need to do better and keep families together.”
For now, Sotelo says she'll keep navigating the legal process…while she tries to bring her husband home.
