Maria Perez Is Free: Nursing Mother Released from ICE Detention Shortly Before Her Daughters’ Birthdays
After months in custody, Maria Perez has been released and reunited with her children. But her detention should never have happened. And she should not be wearing the monitoring bracelet that leaves her tethered to the wall for hours in a day, while trying to care for her infant and special needs toddler all alone.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Ms. Maria Perez* was released from the South Louisiana ICE Processing Center on August 14, following nearly three months in detention after her warrantless arrest by ICE in Nashville in May. She has finally been reunited with her two children.
In just a few weeks, Maria's infant daughter turns one. Because of her release, Maria will be there to celebrate her daughter’s birthday, a milestone she very nearly missed. Her other daughter, who has Down syndrome and multiple health complications, turned three this week and is once again back in her mother’s care.
Maria's release comes after she withstood months of suffering and intimidation while in detention. She resisted because she is an asylum seeker and has legal counsel from Sanctuary of the South (SOS) and the Tennessee Immigrant & Refugee Rights Coalition (TIRRC).
While we celebrate Maria’s return to her children, the harm inflicted on this family was pointless, unlawful, and has created wounds they will carry for years to come. The cruelty of the Trump Administration is unforgivable. While Maria is safe for now, there are thousands of mothers and children suffering the same fate. Sanctuary of the South is proud to stand along them and fight for justice.
— Katie Blankenship, Managing Attorney, Sanctuary of the South
We are thrilled that Maria is home with her children but pained by the trauma this family is enduring at the hands of ICE. We will not stop fighting for Maria and for all the other mothers throughout Tennessee who are being taken from their children by a cruel and unaccountable administration.
— Spring Miller, Senior Director of Legal Strategy, TIRRC
While Maria's release marks an important victory, SOS and TIRRC emphasize that it should never have happened at all. Maria's arrest violated ICE's own Directive 11032.4, which states that the agency should not “detain, arrest, or continue to detain individuals known to be pregnant, postpartum or nursing” except under exceptional circumstances. This is a policy the agency disregarded without consequence. Unfortunately, even upon her release, ICE continued to violate this policy, forcing Maria to wear a wrist monitor that keeps her tethered to a wall outlet for many hours a day while simultaneously trying to care for her infant and toddler. ICE’s own policy states that post-partum and breastfeeding mothers “will not be placed on a form of [monitoring] that requires a radio frequency or global positioning system [GPS].”
Maria is seeking asylum in the United States as a survivor of severe domestic violence in Guatemala. She has no criminal history and has complied with every requirement in the immigration process since she entered the US in 2022.
The harm inflicted on Maria and her children was avoidable from the outset. And while Maria is free, hundreds of women remain in detention at the same facility and others around the country, many without legal counsel. Maria's ability to resist coercion and secure her release was due to her own fortitude and having legal representation — an advantage most detained immigrants do not have.
SOS continues to work on Maria's affirmative asylum application and remains committed to providing legal representation to detained immigrants across the Southeast who would otherwise face ICE alone.
Support Maria
Maria has returned home after months of detention with no income, and mounting expenses for her children’s care, shelter, transport and medical bills… all the things that are needed to provide the family with some stability after the long trauma they have endured. Her friends and family have established a GoFundMe to help meet Maria and her daughters’ most critical needs in the weeks ahead.
* Pseudonym used to protect the client's identity and safety.
About Sanctuary of the South
Sanctuary of the South (SOS) works to defend the right to due process for everyone in the United States, providing critical, affordable legal defense to immigrant families affected by detention, deportation, and abuse. SOS offers direct representation in detention centers across the Southeast, brings federal litigation to hold the government accountable for constitutional violations, and provides robust safety planning for individuals, families, businesses, and communities. Learn more at sanctuaryofthesouth.com
About Tennessee Immigrant & Refugee Rights Coalition
Since its founding in 2003, the Tennessee Immigrant & Refugee Rights Coalition (TIRRC) has grown into a model for immigrant rights organizations in the Southeast and throughout the United States with individuals and groups from diverse backgrounds, faiths, and ethnicities. It is nationally recognized for multiethnic, multigenerational coalition building, effective legislative advocacy, and award-winning communications initiatives. Learn more at www.tnimmigrant.org
