The family of a Montreal woman detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is urgently pleading for her release and hoping to bring her home.
Paula Callejas, 45, has been detained by ICE for the last three months, moving between multiple detention centres and costing her family up to $25,000 in legal fees without any success in getting her out.
“She’s not a criminal,” her mother Amria Estella Cano, a Mississauga, Ont., resident told Global News on Wednesday. “It’s really hard for her and our family.”
Her daughter was arrested in Florida in April and she hasn’t seen her since. She says she is now pleading with the Canadian government to step in and help.
Originally from Montreal, Callejas was in the U.S. on a work visa hoping to grow her swimsuit business.
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Her mother says she was in the process of renewing her visa when she had an altercation with her boyfriend. She was was arrested for a misdemeanour and later transferred to an ICE facility, according to a relative who does not want to be identified.
“She has switched from four different detention centres,” the relative told Global. “And the situation in the centres is not good.”
Her family says the 45-year-old is now stuck in a facility in Arizona, and her mental health is declining.
“We’re very worried. Every time we talk to her, her mood is just deteriorating. The last time we talked to her, we were very concerned about her well-being, and even concerned about her coming home alive,” her relative said.
As part of its immigration crackdown, the Trump administration has pledged to deport record numbers of people who are allegedly living in the country illegally, setting a goal of arresting at least 3,000 people a day.
Global Affairs Canada (GAC) told Global News in a statement that the government is aware of the detention of a Canadian citizen in the United States, and consular assistance is being provided.
“Due to privacy considerations, no further information can be disclosed,” the agency’s statement says.
In March, a Vancouver resident spent nearly two weeks in ICE custody after she was arrested while trying to renew her work visa. Last month, another 49-year-old Canadian died while in custody. He had been detained since May.
“Global Affairs is aware of multiple cases of Canadians currently in immigration-related detention in the U.S.,” the GAC said. “Consular services are available to all Canadians detained abroad, including those detained by ICE in the United States.”
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