When federal agents unexpectedly detained a Chicago teen and his mother last month, outraged community members rallied to support them while they were separated, traversed across the country and subjected to alleged harsh treatment while in detention, Raw Story first reported.
Community advocates called the arrest of Ricardo Hernandez-Navarrete, 18, and his mother, Martha Liliana Navarrete-Capazan, 46, at a check-in with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) a “trap” and reached out to their congresswoman, Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-IL) for help.
In response to Raw Story’s investigation, Schakowsky said in a statement:
“Ricardo, a now 18-year-old high school senior, and his mother Martha came to this country three years ago seeking a better life. They represent what all Americans should strive for, and the way the Trump administration has treated them is horrific, unacceptable and un-American,” she said.
“Donald Trump and this gang of thugs think that cruelty and bigotry make America strong. They are mistaken. Immigrants are and always have been what makes our country great. My office is in communication with the family’s attorney, and we will do everything possible to bring them home and secure justice for them.”
One of the family’s lawyers, Kelli Fennell, said Hernandez-Navarrete and Navarrete-Capazan had accepted pending asylum applications as they faced fear of harm or persecution in their home country of Colombia. Neither the mother nor son has a criminal record, she said.
Raw Story’s investigation also prompted a response from the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Illinois.
“We’ve seen many asylum-seekers like them get detained for no reason, after being in the United States lawfully for many years,” said Samuel B. Cole, senior supervising attorney and chief immigration litigation counsel at the ACLU of Illinois.
“To make matters worse, the facilities where ICE is detaining them frequently do not comply with ICE’s own standards or even pass minimal constitutional muster.”
When Hernandez-Navarette spoke with Raw Story via a phone interview from the Kenton County Detention Center in Kentucky on Tuesday, he said he had been searched without clothes, required to sleep on the floor without blankets and unable to use the restroom due to too many people in one room.
The 18-year-old said he spent two days in solitary confinement and was unable to shower during that time.
His advocates said he’d been transferred at least eight times over the course of the month, traveling to Kansas, Oklahoma, Ohio, Louisiana, Indiana and Kentucky after leaving the Broadview ICE facility outside of Chicago.
In response to a series of questions from Raw Story, a spokesperson for ICE said U.S. Border Patrol agents apprehended the mother and son, "both illegal aliens from Colombia, for illegally entering the United States in 2022,"
“ICE Chicago took custody of Hernandez-Navarrete and Navarrete-Capazan [in] March 2026 for being unlawfully present in the United States. They remain in ICE custody pending further proceedings and will receive full due process," the spokesperson said.
ICE is encouraging immigrants to use the CBP Home App, "offering illegal aliens $2,600 and a free flight to self-deport now," the spokesperson said.
“Being in detention is a choice," the spokesperson said.
“We encourage every person here illegally to take advantage of this offer and reserve the chance to come back to the U.S. the right legal way to live the American dream. If not, you will be arrested and deported without a chance to return.”
