Alejandra is a single mother of two boys, 8 and 18 years old. On a Saturday afternoon in September, she was on the way to pick up one of her sons from soccer practice when she accidentally rear-ended a car at the four-way stop at Race and Windsor. She pulled over and began exchanging insurance and contact information with the man in the other car. Although upset with herself for bumping into other car, the damage was minimal and the gentleman in the other car seemed to understand that accidents happen.
But what Alejandra didn’t know at the time was that the other driver was an off duty police officer who noticed that she had a Mexican Drivers License and had called the Urbana police. After half an hour of waiting for the other driver to share his information, police arrived and Alejandra found out that she was being arrested. Concerned that her son was waiting for her, she tried to call him on her cell phone but was told that she was under arrest and could not make any calls until later. She was arrested and booked at the county jail where her fingerprints were sent to ICE (Federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency). By the time she was able to speak to her son three hours later, she had been told there was a federal hold on her and that she should plan for deportation.
Gripped with fear, Alejandra wondered what was going to happen. Would she see her children again? When would she be deported? Who would take care of her two children and how would she tell them what was happening? Who could she talk to? But the nightmare was just beginning.
At a court hearing on Sunday morning the judge set a date for a ticket and agreed to have her released on her own recognizance. However, as we have heard from other immigrants, her family was discouraged from posting bail because of the detainer and the certain arrival by ICE agents. On Monday she was told she was to have court again but the judge did not show. She was transported from the satellite jail to the downtown jail on Tuesday but she knew nothing of the possibility of release. By Wednesday, four days after her arrest, Alejandra was still in jail.
Although Alejandra had been held more than the 48 hours allowed for under Secure Communities, she was still being held in the jail. When a volunteer with C-U Immigration Forum called the jail four days after Alejandra had been arrested and explained that she could not be held more than 48 hours, the response from the Lieutenant on duty was “This is news to me.” He was prepared to hold her for ICE indefinitely until he was informed that he might be subjecting Champaign County taxpayers to a potential law suit. Within the hour, Alejandra was transported to the satellite jail where she was suddenly released. Relieved and afraid of subjecting her family and friends to further humiliation, she walked home in the rain from the satellite jail on Lierman in East Urbana to her home in Champaign. After four days in jail, she was finally home with her children but was facing future legal expenses and court hearings.
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