Resident Commissioner Demands Answers from ICE Regarding Detention of Domestic Violence Survivor with Valid Legal Status
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Resident Commissioner Pablo José Hernández (D-P.R.) has sent an urgent letter to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) leadership demanding immediate confirmation of the location and custody status of Ms. Aracelis Terrero-Mota, a domestic violence survivor with lawful immigration status who was reportedly detained by U.S. Customs and Border Protection in Puerto Rico and transferred off-island without due notice.
Ms. Terrero is a VAWA self-petitioner with a pending adjustment of status application, valid work authorization, and a valid advance parole travel document. Despite these legal protections, her attorney has not received any information regarding her location and she does not appear in ICE’s online detainee locator system.
“In a just immigration system, people with valid legal status and pending proceedings do not simply vanish,” said Hernández. “We demand transparency. We demand due process. We demand that Ms. Terrero’s rights be respected, and her whereabouts be disclosed.”
La carta, liderada por Hernández Rivera, fue firmada también por los representantes Adriano Espaillat (D-N.Y.), presidente del Caucus Hispano del Congreso; Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), Jesús G. “Chuy” García (D. Ill.), Nydia Velázquez (D-N.Y.), Delia C. Ramirez (D-Ill.), Ritchie Torres (D-N.Y.), Linda T. Sánchez (D-Calif.), Darren Soto (D-Fla.), Gilbert Ray Cisneros Jr. (D-Calif.), Sylvia R. Garcia (D-Texas), Nanette Diaz Barragán (D-Calif.), Robert Garcia (D-Calif.), Emily Randall (D-Wash.), Luz M. Rivas (D-Calif.), Veronica Escobar (D-Texas), Raul Ruiz M.D. (D-Calif.), Teresa Leger Fernández (D-N.M.).
“Ms. Terrero is not a threat—she is a survivor who did everything by the book,” added Hernández. “Our institutions cannot retraumatize vulnerable individuals and hide behind bureaucratic silence.”
The letter calls for:
- Immediate confirmation of Ms. Terrero’s current location and custody status
- Assurance that she has full access to legal representation
- Preventative action to ensure compliance with legal safeguards in VAWA-related cases
Click HERE to read the Resident Commissioner and his colleagues’ letter.
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