Yoleidy and her son stand on the porch of their home after the second ICE visit on Feb. 25, 2025.
A Venezuelan family in South Tucson found themselves at the center of an unexpected encounter with Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers over the last two days, raising questions about their status, rights, and the reasoning behind the visit.
The family — a husband and wife and their four children — say their legal documentation is in order and that authorities said they were investigating concerns of child trafficking and prostitution.
On Monday afternoon, several officers from Homeland Security Investigations, the investigative branch of ICE, arrived at the home of Yoleidy and Juan, a Venezuelan couple, seeking Yoleidy, who was not home at the time. The couple asked we only use their first names for fear of repercussions.
Yoleidy said when Juan answered the door expecting it to be her, he was surprised to see ICE agents and unmarked vehicles on his property.
As her husband spoke with ICE, Yoleidy was driving toward their home.
“So when I got back, I saw the patrols, but they weren’t patrols, they were independent [unmarked] cars,” Yoleidy said in Spanish. “There were three there outside. I saw them from the corner and I just immediately left.”
The couple, who arrived in Tucson in 2022, had no prior knowledge of any investigation about them. Their four children were all in school when ICE officers conducted their visit.
Yoleidy says the agents asked her husband if he would open the door so they could check if everything was all right.
“They went back to the children’s room,” Yoleidy said. “They asked who sleeps in their room, who lives here. After that, they asked for documentation for the children. They wanted to look at every document from each child. They wanted to check to make sure everything was good.”
Yoleidy says agents told her husband that they would return the next day at 4 p.m. and that the whole family should be present with all their documentation.
Determined not to face the second visit alone, the wife says she sought legal assistance and alerted local activists. When ICE officers returned on Tuesday afternoon, a significant media presence had gathered outside the home, along with the family’s newly retained attorney, Luis Campos.
Although civil in their approach, the agents appeared unsettled by the number of cameras and reporters present, according to Campos.
“It was not an aggressive position taken by the officers, but I think they were taken aback honestly by the presence of the media here…they pulled up in two vehicles and I think there were four officers, you could tell they were taken aback,” Campos said. “They knew immediately that the family was represented and that the media was here.”
This time, the ICE officers remained on the outside of the family’s gate.
“I met them outside the front gate and of course indicated to them that absent of a judicial warrant, they would not be allowed into the private areas of the home, including the porch and clearly into the home,” Campos said. “They wanted to ensure the general welfare of the children of the home, and I said we would be happy to produce them on the porch, from a distance, as long as the officers agreed to maintain their distance outside of the gate, and they agreed to that.”
Campos also mentioned that the officers asked the children some rudimentary questions from their agreed distance. Campos said one child took it upon himself to be the spokesperson for his siblings and shouted at the officers, “We are a good family!”
The rest of the interaction was brief, according to Campos and the family. The officers reiterated their concerns regarding the safety of the children and expressed a desire to speak with them. However, after a short exchange, they left without taking further action.
The family remains bewildered by the accusations that led to the raid. They are currently in the process of seeking asylum, having fled Venezuela in search of safety and stability. Like many migrants, they endured a grueling journey, including the dangerous crossing of the Darién Gap. Yoleidy and Juan arrived in 2022 and their kids the following year, separate from their parents.
Campos said the only reason he could guess that may have set these events in motion is that the family needs to ensure they report to the Office of Refugee Resettlement, also referred to as ORR.
“It was indicated to me today that the family needs to ensure that they report with what is called ORR,” said Campos. “They are in charge of the unaccompanied minors when they arrive. And this family is quite good, by the way. Better than most of the clients I’ve had, in terms of complying with every single rule and showing up to every interview, going to their court hearings, everything that needs to be filed, they're very good.”
Campos says he was told the family needs to make sure all their information is current.
For now, the family is left with lingering fear and uncertainty. Although reassured by legal representation, they remain on edge about what might happen next.
ICE did not immediately provide information on this case. Immigration authorities have provided few details on local immigration enforcement measures, but there have been a few recent media reports on ICE agents going into local businesses to check the staff’s employment eligibility and at least one case, reported by AZ Luminaria, of a mother being deported and separated from her children.
Campos says ICE officers are not allowed entry into a home without a judicial warrant, as opposed to an administrative warrant, which is not enough.
“So they need to be shown a judicial warrant through the door, through the window, or passed under the door, or the only other way they can access a home is if the owner's consent to entry,” he said. “…These are all constitutional rights granted to all persons, not all citizens, all persons, and that includes individuals who are undocumented.”
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