ARIZONA BORDER AND IMMIGRATION NEWS
Sen. Mark Kelly talks with 2 mothers detained at ICE detention center in Eloy
Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly visited the Eloy Detention Center on Thursday to speak with two mothers detained by immigration authorities.
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PHOENIX — U.S. Sen. Mark Kelly was the latest Democrat to visit the Eloy Detention Center on Thursday.
He said he spoke with two immigrant mothers — both of whom have been in the U.S. for 20 years and have no criminal history — who were swept up in recent enforcement actions.
One of the women was Kelly Yu, a Peoria business owner who fled China’s one-child policy. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers detained her in May while she was attending a court hearing.
The other woman’s story struck a deeply personal chord for him.
“There’s a lot to absorb, but I want to tell you about a woman I met named Maria because her story really shows how messed up all this is,” Kelly wrote on social media after the visit.
Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) officers detained Maria Pelaez, who is a Mexican national, at a Marine base in Yuma. She traveled there to help care for her 2-year-old grandson. Her son, an active-duty U.S. Marine, was preparing for a training exercise, while her daughter-in-law was recovering from surgery.
“I remember how proud my parents were watching my brother and I get sworn into the Navy, so I asked her if she had been there when her son graduated from boot camp,” Kelly said. “She broke down in tears. All she could say was how proud of her son she was.”
The conversation stuck with him.
“This woman loves America,” Kelly said. “Her son is risking her life for America — for us. She is the exact type of person we should want in this country.”
In addition to speaking with Yu and Pelaez at the ICE detention center, he also received a briefing and a tour of the facility.
Hearing from Yu and Pelaez made him emotional at times, he said in an announcement after the tour.
“My team and I will keep fighting for Kelly Yu and Maria Pelaez and their families,” Kelly said in the announcement. “Arizonans deserve real solutions for our broken border and immigration system, not what I saw today which was ripping families and communities apart.”
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Comments
36 Comments
No issues there, arrest the democrats for fraud, insurrection and "pedal file" and you can begin right here in AZ>
AGAIN, I realize you firmly believe people of a specific political party are above the law, that is clear.
WHY do you believe some people who commit illegal acts should not be held accountable?
Trying to muddy the waters with your lies is only showing that you detest democracy.
It’s a fact of life that some people are above the law. I’d rather see an illegal immigrant who’s been a productive member of society for 20 years and raised a son to become a marine to receive some special treatment than watch a RW domestic terrorist who received a 20 year sentence for assaulting multiple Capitol Police officers on J6 receive a presidential pardon.