Elsy Noemi Berrios, the 52-year-old Westminster woman whose arrest by ICE agents while in her car drew national attention, was denied bond for her release, a New Jersey immigration judge ruled.
Berrios’ attorneys, who disagree with Wednesday’s ruling, said they plan to make a “timely appeal.” The attorneys added that they would like to speak with Berrios before “making a more detailed statement to the media.”
Berrios appeared in an Elizabeth, New Jersey, immigration court Wednesday following circulation of a social media post made from a cellphone video of Berrios and her 18-year-old daughter, Karen Cruz Berrios. During the video, Berrios’ daughter pleaded for the ICE officers to leave her mother alone, just before one agent shattered the car door window and placed the mother in handcuffs.
The mother and daughter planned to ride to work together on March 31, where Berrios worked as a seamstress for the past five years.
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ICE agents break window to arrest Maryland woman
The mother and daughter believe the agents had been after Berrios because ICE officers previously came to the family’s Westminster home twice but were denied entry each time.
According to her attorneys, Berrios entered the U.S. in 2017 as an undocumented person from El Salvador and had been living in Westminster with her son and daughter. She had been in the process of seeking asylum in the U.S., her attorneys said.
Following the arrest, the government said that the agents’ actions were driven in part because Elsy Noemi Berrios is an associate of the violent gang MS-13, which has Salvadoran roots. Berrios’ daughter and her mother’s attorney have denied in interviews that she has a connection to gang membership.
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