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Ecuadorian man says ICE arrested him moments after son boarded school bus

Aug 26, 2026·Location: Danbury, CT

Country of origin: Ecuador

Ecuadorian man says ICE arrested him moments after son boarded school bus
Photo via Newsweek

Leonel Geovanny Morocho-Arteaga, a 28-year-old Ecuadorian citizen and father of two, was arrested by ICE in Danbury, Connecticut, during a four-day operation that led to 118 arrests. In a sworn affidavit filed in federal court, he said agents surrounded his car after he placed his 6-year-old son on a school bus, and that his asylum appeal was pending at the time. DHS has denied the arrest took place at a bus stop, though video from cameras on the school bus appears to show agents detaining an adult at a nearby intersection shortly after children boarded. DHS has previously said agents found a large kitchen knife in his vehicle and that one of his children is under the guardianship of her mother; Morocho-Arteaga remains in ICE custody pending removal proceedings.

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