Undocumented mother who cares for daughter with cancer released on bond after ICE arrest

A judge ordered an undocumented woman being held at the Otay Mesa Detention Center in San Diego released on bond Tuesday, with her case drawing national attention, as she is the primary caregiver for her daughter with cancer.

ICE agents arrested Yolanda Perez outside her Los Angeles-area home on Feb. 24. Her attorney said agents were looking for her son, who does have a criminal history, and she was taken into custody when she came outside in what’s known as a collateral arrest.

“This is an unfortunate situation because emotion drove the family to come out,” Perez’s attorney David Acalin said. “The mother confronted the ICE officer, ‘What are you doing to my son?’ And at that point, they questioned her about her legal status, and she got taken into custody. Had she stayed in the house, remained silent, I don't think we'd be talking right now. I don't think she would have been taken into custody.”

Perez’s daughter Xitlali Tejeda is battling cancer and made the journey to San Diego on Tuesday to be with Perez for the bond hearing.

“I was really nervous coming in this morning but I had hope for her. I had hope for the court,” Tejeda said after the hearing. “I knew that she was going to be let out because she’s a great person, and she hasn’t done anything, and I need her.”

The two sat quietly inside the federal immigration courtroom within the detention center as an attorney for the Department of Homeland Security argued Perez was a flight risk.

The DHS attorney said her “criminal and immigration history show a disregard for the law,” pointing to a theft conviction from 2005. At that, Judge Anne Perry responded, “Counsel, that was 20 years ago. Let’s be real.”

Acalin said that conviction was for stealing some food for her children, noting in court he was “totally flabbergasted” by DHS’ position.

“Clearly DHS put, you know, the priority of keeping my client in custody over saving the life of a U.S. citizen, and I find that very, very unbelievable,” Acalin said.

Perez testified that she has been in the U.S. for 22 years and has four children. She is the full-time caregiver for Tejeda, taking her to appointments, bathing her and more.

“I love how caring she is, how she takes care of all of us, even if we're still grown,” Tejeda said. “She still sees us as her babies, and no matter what, she will always be there.”

Perry ordered Perez released on the minimum $1,500 bond with some conditions: requiring her to notify Immigration and Customs Enforcement if she wanted to move and granting the DHS attorney’s request that ICE be allowed to use an ankle monitor at the agency’s discretion.

“This court does not find at all that Ms. Perez poses a danger to the community, nor as the 24-hour caregiver for an ill child is she a risk of flight,” Perry said in issuing her ruling.

Perez's family posted the bond Tuesday afternoon, Acalin said. NBC 7 spoke with the family on their way home to Los Angeles County after Perez was released Tuesday evening.

"This means a lot to me," Tejeda said after reuniting with her mother. "I'm very appreciative that I have her here now, and I'm able to go home with her."

Perez's next hearing was scheduled for April 10, with Acalin noting he intended to file to change the venue to the non-detained immigration court system in Los Angeles. Acalin said those courts are so backlogged — with each judge responsible for between 1,000 to 2,000 cases — that he did not expect to have a final court date in her case for 12 to 18 months.

He noted he’s never seen a response quite like this, including calls from members of Congress and protests outside the detention center.

“I've been doing this for over 40 years. And, I mean, I cannot imagine a more sympathetic case,” Acalin said. “Typically, you know, nobody cares about my clients. And, you know, they get sent back across the border like an assembly line, and no one could care less. And because of the humanitarian factors, and the daughter having cancer, that struck a raw nerve.”

“It warms my heart that somebody cares,” he added.

Tejeda said she was “very happy” for her mother.

“Because I know how much she hates being in there and, well, she doesn’t deserve being in there,” Tejeda said.

She said she can now return to her regular care – her other family members had been rotating to help her, taking shifts off work – and she was looking forward to simply being together.

“Looking forward to hugging her, talk to her. I’m looking forward to her cooking, I miss it,” Tejeda said, adding that they remained worried for her brother because he was their main provider.

“This experience has been very scary. Very stressful, too,” she said. “It’s just, you never know what to expect.”