New York Governor Kathy Hochul announced on Monday that a mother and her three children are on their way back home to New York following their detention by immigration enforcement officials last month at a dairy farm.
The third grader, two teenagers, and their mother, who have not yet been publicly named, were taken into custody on March 27 as officials executed a search warrant at the farm for an individual accused of possessing “child sexual abuse materials,” Tricia McLaughlin, a spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security, wrote on X on Monday.
During the operation at Old McDonald’s Farm in Sackets Harbor, officials “encountered seven additional undocumented individuals on the premises,” including the mother and her children,” McLaughlin stated.
The mother and her children were transported to the Karnes County Detention Facility in Texas, nearly 1,800 miles away, according to the New York Immigration Coalition.
Their detention occurs as the Trump administration continues to tighten its control over the nation’s immigration policies and practices.
Related article Supreme Court permits Trump to enforce the Alien Enemies Act for swift deportations for the time being. Details regarding the reasons for the family’s detention under the warrant were not disclosed until Monday.
Government and school authorities condemned the action, while community members marched through the streets of Sackets Harbor, a village in Jefferson County on Lake Ontario, over the weekend to the residence of White House border czar Tom Homan to demand their release, CNN affiliate WWNY reported.
“Our 3 students who were taken by ICE were doing everything right,” Jaime Cook, the principal of Sackets Harbor Central School District, said in a statement on Facebook. “They had presented themselves to immigration judges, attended court on their scheduled dates, and were following the legal process. They are not criminals.”
“Our students were placed in handcuffs,” Cook told CNN. When asked about reports that the children were handcuffed, McLaughlin said in a statement, “Any claims that a third-grade child was handcuffed are untrue. DHS takes its responsibility to protect children seriously.”
Cook learned about the incident from a teacher who tutors one of the teenagers. Upon arriving at the family’s home to pick up the student, the teacher noticed a significant ICE presence.
The operation was not a raid, Homan told WWNY last week, nearly a month after he told CNN’s Dana Bash “we have got to do more” to increase the number of immigration arrests.
CNN has reached out to Homan for comment on Tuesday.
Related article As Trump’s immigration crackdown persists, ethical concerns arise regarding the use of masked federal agents.
“During investigations like that, we must ensure the safety of any children in the vicinity,” Homan said last week. “There is a procedure during these investigations to determine if these children – if this family could be material witnesses in this horrific crime? Can they provide information and evidence related to this crime? Were they victims of this crime?”
After 10 days of uncertainty, Jennifer L. Gaffney, the superintendent of Sackets Harbor Central School District, expressed her relief that the family is returning home and hopes they can collectively work towards healing from the “traumatic experience,” she said in an online statement.
“What happened to our students was traumatic and unjust,” Cook stated on Tuesday.
“New York has consistently stated its willingness to collaborate with federal immigration enforcement to target gang members or violent criminals,” Hochul said following the news of the family’s release. “However, I will never support cruel actions that remove children from school or separate families.”
As the family enters “the next phase of navigating their journey through the immigration system,” they are requesting privacy, according to the New York Immigration Coalition.
