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Mother detained at Hawaii airport during family vacation, deported to El Salvador

Dec 18, 2025·Location: Honolulu, HI

Country of origin: El Salvador

Mother detained at Hawaii airport during family vacation, deported to El Salvador
Photo via news3lv.com

Yessica Rivera Sanchez, who had lived in Las Vegas for over two decades, was detained by ICE agents at Honolulu airport on December 18 as she exited a plane with her husband and daughter during a family vacation. Her daughter Jessivet Sanchez, who turned 21 in September and had just filed an I-130 family petition on her mother's behalf, now suspects that filing may have inadvertently alerted authorities to a 2004 removal order tied to a 2003 asylum application, one the family says they never received formal notice of. After being transferred through detention centers in California, Texas and Louisiana, Sanchez was deported to El Salvador in late December, where she has since spoken by phone with her family and voiced concern for her husband and daughter's wellbeing. The family has hired an immigration attorney, launched a GoFundMe to cover legal fees, and says an immigration court is now reviewing the case as they work to bring her back.

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