A 10-year-old Minnesota girl has been released from US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody after spending a month detained in Dilley, Texas, school officials confirmed. Elizabeth Zuna Caisaguano, a fourth-grader at Highland Elementary in Columbia Heights, was freed alongside her mother on Tuesday night.
Elizabeth and her mother were arrested by federal agents on 6 January while on their way to school, the first of five students from the Columbia Heights district detained during the Trump administration's immigration crackdown. The family, originally from Ecuador, has an active asylum case, according to school leaders.
Concerns had been raised about Elizabeth's health after federal officials confirmed a measles outbreak at the Dilley facility, which houses families. Carolina Gutierrez, principal secretary at Elizabeth's school, said the girl had flu-like symptoms and her mother had broken out in hives, but they had not yet received a medical assessment.
Elizabeth's case was assigned to US Judge Fred Biery, who had previously ordered the release of five-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos from the same facility. Judge Biery argued that Liam's detention stemmed from 'ill-conceived and incompetently implemented government pursuit of daily deportation quotas.' On Monday, Biery issued an order blocking Elizabeth and her mother's removal, giving the government five days to respond to their release petition. Their sudden release the following day surprised the family's attorney.
Bobby Painter, managing attorney with the Texas Immigration Law Council, said the family should never have been detained. 'This is a family going through the process as it was intended. They presented at the border as asylum seekers and were admitted to the country. They did everything they were supposed to do and still found themselves detained and separated,' he said.
Elizabeth and her mother are now at a Texas shelter and will return to Minnesota to reunite with her father. Gutierrez expressed relief, saying, 'I'm just excited to see Elizabeth come back to school. We have to continue advocating and speaking up for other people to come home.'
