Months after a 40-year-old Brazilian national was detained by immigration officers on a residential street in Worcester, two of her teenage daughters are missing from state custody.
Nayara Ferreira de Moura, 17, and Karoline Ferreira de Moura, 13, were in the custody of the Dept. of Children and Families while their mother, Rosane Ferreira de Oliveira, was being held by ICE.
Nayara ran away in May, Worcester police told Boston 25 News, and Karoline left DCF custody on July 20.
“All we know is that DCF was supposed to take care of them,” said Juan Congote, attorney for Ferreira de Oliveira. “I mean, if they’re taking the mom, at least the government should do something to provide for the girls. And it seems like that wasn’t happening.”
Before her controversial detainment by ICE in coordination with Worcester police, Ferreira de Oliveira had been arrested in February for allegedly assaulting a pregnant family member, charges which have since been dropped.
But Ferreira de Oliveira remains in ICE custody at Strafford County Jail in Dover, N.H., as she awaits her final immigration hearing, her attorney Juan Congote told Boston 25 News.
Ferreira de Oliveira, who entered the country in 2022 seeking asylum, is distraught and having difficulty sleeping as her children remain missing, Congote said.
“She feels powerless,” Congote said. “I mean, basically she was the core of her family. She was keeping her family together. And then she was taken away in a very aggressive way.”
DCF did not comment on the circumstances of the sisters’ disappearance. But a spokesperson told Boston 25 News the department’s “highest priority is the safety of every child. When a youth in DCF custody is missing from their approved placement, the Department immediately reports it to law enforcement and makes every effort to locate the child.”
This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.
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