A 10-year-old Minnesota girl, Elizabeth Zuna Caisaguano, has been released from US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody after a month in detention in Dilley, Texas, school officials confirmed. She and her mother walked free from the facility on Tuesday night, returning to Minnesota to reunite with her father.
Elizabeth, a fourth-grader from Columbia Heights, was taken by federal agents on 6 January, the first of five students from the district to be detained under the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown. The family, originally from Ecuador, has an active asylum case. Her detention drew widespread concern, particularly after a measles outbreak was confirmed at the Dilley facility.
School staff reported that Elizabeth experienced flu-like symptoms and her mother developed hives, though they had not received medical assessments. Carolina Gutierrez, principal secretary at Elizabeth’s school, expressed relief: “I’m just excited to see Elizabeth come back to school. We have to continue advocating for others to come home.”
The girl and her mother were arrested on their way to school. Elizabeth acted as an interpreter, telling her father that officers would drop her off. He waited hours at the school but she never arrived; they were flown to Texas that day. The father was inconsolable, according to school social worker Tracy Xiong.
Elizabeth’s case was assigned to US Judge Fred Biery, who had previously ordered the release of another child, Liam Conejo Ramos. Biery issued an order blocking the removal of Elizabeth and her mother, and the following day they were unexpectedly released. Bobby Painter, the family’s attorney, said they should never have been detained: “This is a family going through the process as intended.”
