TEMPE, Ariz. — The detention of a Tempe mother and her 14-year-old son by federal immigration authorities sparked emotional protests outside a local elementary school this week, leaving family members and classmates searching for answers.
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U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement confirmed that 47-year-old Margoth Paredes and her son, Dilan Paredes, were taken into custody and transported to the Dilley Family Detention Center in Texas.
According to ICE, Paredes, an undocumented immigrant from Ecuador, was arrested after being found in a vehicle suspected of involvement in alien smuggling that failed to stop for Border Patrol agents.
Community members gathered Wednesday outside Cecil Shamley School in Tempe after federal immigration authorities were present near the campus. The Tempe Elementary School District said the detention did not occur at the school.
Neighbor Domini Meredith said she first became aware of the situation after hearing shouting in the neighborhood.
“We could hear behind the house that there was a commotion, so it was really hard to decipher what they were saying exactly, but there was a lot of shouting, shame. The name Dylan was repeated over and over again,” Meredith said.
Meredith said her husband later drove around the block and saw protesters lining the sidewalk outside the school.
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Family members said Paredes had been arrested at a Walmart near Rural and Southern avenues in Tempe. They said she contacted her older children for help, but they were also detained.
“When my children went to help her… ICE also detained them,” said Javier Flores, Paredes’ ex-partner.
ICE said in a statement that Paredes voluntarily contacted the school and requested that her son be released so he could meet her while she was in custody. Authorities said Paredes was transported to a location near the school, where a school administrator escorted the boy to awaiting officers.
The boy, an eighth grader, had been scheduled to attend a promotion ceremony Thursday morning. Following the incident, the district informed families that the ceremony would proceed without parents or guests to ensure safety for all those involved.
Rep. Greg Stanton said on social media on Wednesday that the mother and son were being transported together to Texas.
Family members said Paredes’ two older children remain detained in Arizona. ICE has confirmed only that it is holding Paredes and her son.
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