A mother and her three children were detained by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and transported to a Texas detention facility, causing outrage.
New York Governor Kathy Hochul, along with advocacy groups and local school leaders, expressed concern about the situation. The mother and her children were taken into federal custody as President Donald Trump attempted to deport hundreds of immigrants without a court hearing or criminal charges.
Mother and Three Kids Detained by ICE
The New York Immigration Coalition is a non-profit organization dedicated to advocating for immigrant rights. It was the one that confirmed that an unidentified family, including a third-grade student, had been detained by ICE at a dairy farm in Sackets Harbor, New York.
The family was then transferred to the Karnes County Detention Facility in Texas, which is approximately 1,800 miles from where they were. According to NBC News, the group’s president and CEO, Murad Awawdeh, said it was horrifying that the children and their mother were taken from their home and simply vanished.
Awadeh also stated that the detained family was “correctly navigating the immigration system and attending their immigration court hearings.” He claimed that Trump and Tom Homan are simply “acting fully outside the law.”
Following the development, neither ICE nor the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) responded to requests for comment on the family’s seizure. Sackets Harbor residents plan a rally to demand the mother and her children’s release from custody.
Gov. Hochul described the mother and her three children’s detention as “just plain cruel,” and she immediately requested that ICE return the family to her state. On March 24, 2025, the DHS, ICE, and other federal law enforcement agencies began operations in parts of New York to enforce immigration law, according to CBS News.
Donald Trump’s Immigration Efforts
Awadeh added that the United States is supposed to be a law-abiding nation, but despite going through the proper immigration channels, the family was arrested by ICE agents. Hochul stated that she supports deporting violent criminals rather than innocent families.
Sackets Harbor Superintendent Jennifer Gaffney stated that when the mother and her three children were taken into custody, law enforcement officials were executing a warrant for a person suspected of committing a crime.
She also stated that the children detained by ICE agents were classmates and members of the school community. According to Syracuse, Gaffney echoed Hochul’s call for the family’s return to their home.