Esther Ngoy Tekele, a 24-year-old woman from Vermont, was detained by ICE after coming back to the US from a wedding in Canada, according to her family. Born in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and having a young child, she was detained on July 6 by immigration agents while entering the US through the Highgate Springs Port of Entry, local station WPTZ reported.
Esther Ngoy Tekele held in South Burlington
ICE records confirm Tekele is in custody. WPTZ reported that she is being held at the Chittenden Regional Correctional Facility in South Burlington. Her brother, Coco Ngoy, said he believes their family was racially profiled while returning to the country.
"I can say we were treated like slaves because you could even tell from the body language—from the nonverbal language—how disrespectful some of the officers were," he said.
Coco Ngoy went on, “Going through a situation like this is really a nightmare,” adding that after a wait of about three hours, the group was told they could go, except for Tekele. She was then handed over to ICE.
Tekele has lived in Vermont for four years and has visited Canada several times. She has a 2-year-old son and is the main caregiver for her mother, the station reported. Her lawyer said she has a valid green card and no criminal record.
The reason for Esther Ngoy Tekele arrest is still unclear
Court documents say Tekele wasn’t able to reach her attorney "for several days while in detention," and the reason for her arrest is still unclear. She claims she is being detained in violation of her rights under the Fourth and Fourteenth Amendments of the US Constitution.
{{/usCountry}}Court documents say Tekele wasn’t able to reach her attorney "for several days while in detention," and the reason for her arrest is still unclear. She claims she is being detained in violation of her rights under the Fourth and Fourteenth Amendments of the US Constitution.
{{/usCountry}}Coco Ngoy said, "People who can make decisions, people who have the influence — I'm just asking them to step up and help." Tom Homan, Trump’s border czar, told CNN earlier this year, “ICE is, they're out there enforcing the law today. And of course, as I've said numerous times, they're focusing on public safety threats. That'll be our priority.”
100,000 undocumented deportations
Officials said the administration deported about 100,000 undocumented immigrants in the first few months of Trump’s term. Many of those deportations followed Trump’s use of the Alien Enemies Act of 1798, a rarely used law that has drawn criticism and legal challenges.