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Inocencia R.: Dominican mother of eight-year-old detained by ICE agents at checkpoint

Inocencia Rodríguez, a 32-year-old Dominican housekeeper and mother pursuing a six-year path to legal status, was freed on a $5,000 bond advocates called excessive after her checkpoint detention.

Jul 10, 2026Guaynabo, PRCountry of origin: Dominican Republic

Inocencia R.: Dominican mother of eight-year-old detained by ICE agents at checkpoint
Photo via El País

Inocencia Rodríguez, a 32-year-old Dominican mother of an eight-year-old daughter who works as a housekeeper in Guaynabo, was detained by at least eight ICE agents at a checkpoint while driving a friend to work. She had been pursuing a six-year process to regularize her status, including an I-130 petition filed by her permanent resident husband and an approved I-601A provisional waiver. Immigration Judge Elvin Talavera Peraza set a $5,000 bond allowing her to remain free while her case continues, and the ACLU of Puerto Rico, which represented her, called the bond "excessive and unjustified" given she posed no flight risk. Rodríguez thanked her legal team, family and community after her release, saying it showed people could still trust the justice system.

“I feel it’s unfair because I’m doing things right and they know it; I have complied with every order they gave me. It was very unfair of them to put someone through such a sad moment, because no one expects to be locked up the way I was, handcuffed, as if they were a criminal.”
— Inocencia Rodríguez
“That was the document I presented when they detained me and they took me anyway.”
— Inocencia Rodríguez
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