TUCSON, Ariz. (KVOA) – One of the attorneys representing a local Dreamer, reportedly detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement this week, says the 29-year-old is no longer believed to be in Tucson.
The family of Karla Toledo, who they say is a DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) recipient, said immigration officials detained Toledo from her Tucson home on Monday morning. Her attorney, Mo Goldman, told News 4 Tucson they are still trying to confirm the reason for her detainment.
However, based on conversations between Toledo and ICE agents, Goldman said it may be connected to Toledo re-entering the country multiple times while under a travel permit, known as “Advanced Parole.” Goldman said that permit allows for multiple entries.
“So if the basis of this detention is because she came back into the U.S. and used it more than once, then the government, they’re the ones that would be at fault here,” Goldman said. “Because they actually said multiple entries on the document”
Attorney: Tucson woman’s ICE detention may involve travel permit
Toledo’s mother, Veronica Ortiz, said Monday evening that she feels powerless following the detainment of her daughter. Toledo, who is reportedly a Dreamer, has been in the country since she was a one-year-old, her mother said.
“This is something very difficult because I never thought that she or one of us or a family member had to go through something like this,” Ortiz said.
Toledo’s parents Veronica and Victor Ortiz gathered outside a southside Tucson U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility Monday, along with community members, immigration advocates and Southern Arizona Congresswoman Adelita Grijalva.
Grijalva and Tucson Mayor Regina Romero are calling on ICE to release Toledo.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement told News 4 Tucson Tuesday morning that the agency is preparing a statement on the case. News 4 Tucson is still awaiting that statement.
Ortiz stressed that her daughter is not a criminal, adding that Toledo’s DACA permit is in the process of being renewed. She shared a message for her daughter.
“What God plans for her will always be the best, and she is not alone, and that she has a whole family—her dad, her mom, her aunt, all her sisters, all who are waiting for her,” Ortiz said.
Goldman said he is still waiting to learn where Toledo is being placed. Next steps would include him and Toledo’s other lawyer, Luis Campos, filing a “custody determination request” to see if Toledo can be released on bond.
