Immigrant Mother and Three Children Freed After ICE Raid Sparks Outcry in Border Czar's Hometown

An immigrant mother and her three children have been released after being apprehended by immigration agents during a raid in upstate New York. Their release follows growing public pressure, including a large community protest in Sackets Harbor, the town were the raid took place and the hometown of Trump border czar Tom Homan.

"After eleven days of uncertainty, our students and their mother are returning home," said Jennifer Gaffney, superintendent of the Sackets Harbor Central School District. "We remain committed to providing the care, understanding, and sensitivity necessary for all students and staff as we begin the healing process from this traumatic experience."

A senior official in the Department of Homeland Security confirmed to NBC News that the family is set to return home.

The family was taken into custody on March 27 during an operation by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) at a dairy farm. According to the agency, the primary target of the search was a South African national accused of trafficking child sexual abuse material.

However, authorities also detained the family and three other individuals not named in the warrant. According to CBP, the additional arrests were made after entering a separate home on the property without a judicial warrant.

The mother and her children—aged 9, 15, and 18—were moved nearly 1,800 miles to the Karnes County detention facility in Texas. The operation even drew criticism from New York Governor Kathy Hochul, who called the detentions "plain cruel" and said there was "no public safety justification" for removing the family. "I cannot imagine the trauma these kids and their mom are feeling," she said in a statement after confirming their release.

Local school officials and community members also expressed shock and concern over the family's removal, noting the children's ties to the Sackets Harbor Central School District. The aforementioned Gaffney told The Intercept that the event had traumatized students and staff alike. "Three of their classmates were taken, and they don't know where they are and they don't know if they're going to come back."

Homan, however, defended the operation in an interview with WWNY on Friday, insisting that ICE was acting within the law:

"It wasn't a raid. It was a search warrant execution at a house where a family was found in the country illegally. ICE is doing everything by the book. Once the investigation gets to the point where we don't have an interest in this family, then a decision will be made on release"

The episode also mobilized the local community on Saturday as around 1,000 protesters marched through Sackets Harbor, passing Homan's home in a demonstration organized by local Democratic leaders. "When it happens in your backyard, that's what garners people's attention," said Corey Decillis, chair of the Jefferson County Democratic Committee, according to NBC News.