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DHS Defends ICE Arrests in Viral Videos Involving Children

The dispute centers on whether agents endangered children during arrests that DHS describes as lawful.

Overview

  • Homeland Security says video of the Nov. 6 Fitchburg stop is misleading and confirms Juliana Milena Ojeda-Montoya is in ICE custody at Cumberland County Jail pending removal proceedings.
  • Footage obtained by the Boston Globe shows Carlos Sebastian Zapata appearing to lose consciousness while holding a toddler as agents moved to arrest his wife; DHS says emergency personnel found no legitimate medical episode, while Zapata alleges agents used force that caused convulsions.
  • DHS says Ojeda-Montoya, an Ecuadorian national, was wanted for allegedly stabbing a coworker with scissors, and claims a crowd at the scene shouted obscenities, death threats and antisemitic remarks at officers.
  • In a separate Los Angeles case, agents drove away in a man’s car with his toddler still in a car seat after arresting him; DHS alleges he attacked officers and had a stolen pistol in the vehicle, and the child was later reunited with her grandmother, who reported minor injuries.
  • Chicago also saw a filmed daycare arrest of Diana Patricia Santillana Galeano that drew political criticism; DHS says she fled into the center after a traffic stop, and a federal judge has temporarily barred her removal pending a hearing.