ICE Deports Florida Pastor's Wife After 30 Years In US
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources.
Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content.
Federal immigration authorities deported the wife of a Florida pastor who has been living in the United States for nearly 30 years.
Daniella Isidro said in a Facebook post that her mother, Maria Isidro, had been removed back to Mexico from their home in Live Oak, Florida.
Newsweek has contacted the family and the Department of Homeland Security for comment.
A file image shows U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Baltimore Field Officer director Matt Elliston listens during a briefing, in Silver Spring, Maryland, on January 27, 2025.
A file image shows U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Baltimore Field Officer director Matt Elliston listens during a briefing, in Silver Spring, Maryland, on January 27, 2025.
Alex Brandon/AP
Why It Matters
The case comes amid President Donald Trump's hardline crackdown on immigration. Under the Trump administration, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has ramped up arrests across the country. The White House has maintained that anyone living in the country illegally is considered a "criminal."
What To Know
Maria Isidro initially came to the U.S. in 1998 to seek medical treatment for one of her children. At one point, she was subject to a removal order.
"She was also shackled by wrist, stomach and ankles, leaving bruises on her," Daniella Isidro wrote on Facebook. "This is a [woman] who is loved by a huge community, a pastor's wife, a nana, a wita and our mom."
She told ABC affiliate WCJB that her mother went to court for an update on her immigration case but was then held in an ICE detention center for over a week.
According to WCJB, after Maria Isidro was detained by ICE, her daughters received a call on June 11, informing them that she had been transferred from a detention center in Texas to Mexico.
"I had gone to work that day, and receiving the phone call that my mom had been detained was one of the hardest things I had to do," Daniella Isidro told WCJB.
After arriving in the United States, Maria Isidro took steps to follow legal procedures to remain in the country, according to the Facebook post by her daughter.
In an interview with CBS affiliate WCTV, the family said that they spent years working to secure Maria Isidro's citizenship and that she regularly met with the Department of Homeland Security to comply with requirements and avoid deportation.
As reported by the Tallahassee Democrat, she was issued a removal order in 2004 but had been granted a "stay of deportation" each year since—a discretionary measure that can be revoked at any time.
In 2023, she was approved for an I-130 petition, also known as a Petition for Alien Relative, which is a step toward obtaining legal status.
What People Are Saying
Maria Isidro's son, Jo Isidro wrote in a social media post: "She wasn't taken by illness. She didn't leave by choice. She was detained by ICE during what was supposed to be a routine immigration check-in. My mother is a Christian woman. A preacher's wife. A caregiver. A woman with no criminal record, who's always done things the right way. She showed up to every appointment. She trusted the system. And still, she was taken from us."
The family wrote in a post on GoFundMe: "She has shown up to every check-in for over 20 years, always with documents in hand, never hiding, always doing things the right way. As anyone who has gone through this process knows, it is a lengthy and costly process."
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