SALISBURY, Md. - A woman whose son passed away just days after she was arrested and detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement earlier this month has returned to her family in Salisbury.
Arlit Maria Martinez-Carrada, 41, was on her way to work on Jan. 3 when she was stopped and detained by ICE on Mt. Hermon Rd. in Wicomico County. A Mexican national, Arlit’s husband Rigo told WBOC they had planned to return to Mexico until their son Kevin was diagnosed with cancer, forcing them to remain in the United States while he was treated.
Days after his mother’s arrest, Kevin lost his battle with cancer and passed away on Jan. 5. According to local immigration advocate Paola Subervi and Martinez-Carrada’s legal representation, she was denied release to be with her family and mourn her son after a U.S. Immigration Judge deemed her a flight risk.
According to court records obtained by WBOC, Martinez-Carrada received a traffic citation in 2015 for driving without a license. No other criminal history in Maryland is listed on her records.
New Jersey immigration attorney Carolina Curbelo says she has been working with immigration lawyers in Maryland to secure Martinez-Carrada's release. Despite receiving letters from Kevin’s oncologist and a Salisbury funeral home, the immigration judge refused to grant Arlit bond, according to Curbelo. Arlit was later transferred to an ICE facility in Newark, NJ.
Curbelo tells WBOC she then filed a habeas corpus petition, arguing Arlit was being unlawfully detained. On Monday, Jan. 26, a federal judge approved Martinez-Carrada’s release on a bond of $12,000, according to Curbelo. Bond was posted by her family, the attorney says, and Martinez-Carrada has returned to Salisbury, monitored by an ankle bracelet.
Curbelo says that while Martinez-Carrada has every intention of returning to Mexico to bury Kevin, she now must wait for formal removal proceedings to continue. Curbelo says her next hearing is scheduled for Monday.
Paola Subervi tells WBOC a funeral service for Kevin is planned for Saturday, Jan. 31, in Salisbury.
