The future remains uncertain for Tatiana Luna Bonito, a resident of Austin, who was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on Wednesday. According to CBS Austin, following her arrest, Luna Bonito was transported to the J.J. Pickle Federal building before being placed on a bus, shackled alongside approximately 20 other detainees. Her transfer took place under the distressed gaze of her daughter, Thalia Gutierrez, who tearfully witnessed her mother's departure.
"I was just really desperate to find her because I didn't know where she was," Gutierrez confided during an interview with CBS Austin. The media outlet reports that Luna Bonito was subsequently located at the South Texas Detention Facility in Pearsall, Texas. With ICE detainees typically facing deportation proceedings, immigration attorney Kate Lincoln-Goldfish suggested to CBS Austin that Luna Bonito is likely in line for deportation straight from the facility. However, Luna Bonito's criminal history, which includes minor drug and traffic offenses, may complicate her case, making her release from detention or stopping a deportation far from straightforward.
As described by Lincoln-Goldfish in a statement obtained by MSN, the likelihood of Luna Bonito's home country Cuba accepting her return is diminished due to her drug charges, raising concerns that she could become stateless. "Typically people who are stateless, might stay in detention in the United States for a very long time, the situation in ICE detention is not a good one, people suffer a lot," Lincoln-Goldfish said.
For Gutierrez, the scenario unfolding is wrenching, her mother's wellbeing intertwined with the throes of an immigration system that she fears could keep them apart for years. "It's so inhumane, no," she pleaded, in a quote given to CBS Austin. Gutierrez is prepared to do whatever it takes for her mother, even as Luna Bonito has been diagnosed with COVID-19 and quarantined within the detention center. The legal process will only commence post-quarantine, with MSN sharing that it might be years before a resolution is reached.
