Parents of a US Marine Were Visiting Their Pregnant Daughter. Then ICE Showed Up

Federal immigration authorities detained the parents of a US Marine during a visit to Camp Pendleton, California, leading to the father’s deportation, according to local reports. Esteban Rios and Luisa Rodriguez, longtime residents of Oceanside, California, were attempting to visit their pregnant daughter, who is married to another Marine stationed at the base, when Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents took them into custody, NBC 7 San Diego reported. Their son, Marine Steve Rios, said he had joined the military to make his parents proud. “It was just making them proud, right? I’ve seen all the struggles they’ve gone through,” he told NBC 7. “The least I could do, right, and serve this country and try to, you know, put some time in.”Also Read: Federal Agents Use Tear Gas, Arrest Several Anti-ICE Protesters In Portland The detentions come as President Donald Trump’s administration continues to pursue an aggressive immigration policy aimed at deporting migrants living in the country without legal status. The Rios family said both Esteban Rios and Luisa Rodriguez had lived in the United States for more than three decades after arriving from Mexico. They had pending green card applications, sponsored by their son Steve, as well as valid work permits while awaiting approval. “It was scary,” Steve said. “It was scary because my whole life, it’s been in the back of my head.” The family said Esteban and Luisa spent years working long hours washing cars and cleaning houses to support their children and provide them with opportunities they never had. Their daughter, Ashley Rios, described the moment she learned her parents had been detained. “My brother texted me that they got stopped. And as soon as I heard that, I just started, like, bawling,” she said. “He asked what was wrong, and I said that my parents were getting taken.” The couple were initially taken to a federal facility and released a few hours later with ankle monitors. They were told to report back to ICE on Thursday, but were detained again after waiting several hours. At the time, Esteban Rios was wearing a red shirt and a white hat reading “Proud dad of a US Marine,” Steve said. He added that he last spoke to his father on Friday morning. Esteban told him they were being held in the basement of a federal building before being transferred to the Otay Mesa Detention Center. He was deported later that day. A spokesperson for ICE said in a statement: “As part of its routine operations, ICE arrests aliens who commit crimes and other individuals who have violated our nation’s immigration laws. All aliens in violation of US immigration law may be subject to arrest, detention and, if found removable by final order, removal from the United States, regardless of nationality.”