Undocumented Mexican immigrant detained in Las Vegas released

An undocumented Mexican immigrant held for about 10 days after showing up for an interview with immigration authorities in Las Vegas was released Friday morning, advocacy groups said.

Cecilia Gomez, 46, was released from Eloy Detention Center in Arizona after she was detained in late March by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers in Las Vegas and placed on a bus bound for the U.S.-Mexico border, according to a joint release from multiple advocacy groups.

She walked into the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services office in Las Vegas on March 27 for an interview to process her permanent residence, thinking she was close to becoming a U.S. citizen, but was instead told she was the subject of a deportation order issued about 20 years ago and then pinned against a table by ICE officials, according to her attorney, Laura Barrera.

Advocacy groups attributed her Friday morning release to pressure from family, community groups and elected officials.

“This past week has been some of the most difficult days of my life,” Gomez said in a statement. “I arrived at USCIS thinking that after 20-years of trying I would finally become a permanent resident – but instead I was detained by ICE, brutally slammed on a table and later placed on a flight headed to Mexico.”

Gomez gave thanks to her family and for the strong community support. “This incident has been traumatic, and now I am happy to be home and am encouraged to continue fighting for my right to remain with my family,” she said in the statement.

At the behest of Gomez’ family, Barrera filed a motion to reopen Gomez’s case and obtained a stay from a judge as the bus was just miles short of the border.

She was being held at Eloy Detention Center after stops at centers in Las Vegas, Denver, El Paso, Texas and Nogales, Arizona.

In a statement, Barrera said Gomez was on supervised release.

“This means she will have to attend occasional check-ins at the ICE office and comply with any other terms they set for release but she will get to be home with her family while her immigration case is pending,” Barrera said.

Barrera and immigrant advocates said at a Thursday news conference that Gomez never received the deportation order because she was a victim of “notario fraud” — an increasingly common crime in which undocumented immigrants are duped by people pretending to have legal expertise or a position of authority.

Friday night calls to Barrera and Bliss Requa-Trautz, a local advocate for undocumented immigrants and director of the Las Vegas Workers Center, were not immediately returned.

A press conference with Gomez’ family and several advocacy groups is scheduled for Monday.

Contact Mike Shoro at mshoro@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-5290. Follow @mike_shoro on Twitter.