Maria “Lulu” Martinez moved to the U.S. with her family when she was 12 years old.
VENICE, Fla. — A top student who was brought to the United States from Mexico during her childhood now faces the possibility of deportation. On Saturday, her family convened a press conference urging for her release from ICE detention.
Maria “Lulu” Martinez moved to the U.S. with her family when she was 12 years old.
“From the moment I brought my family including ‘LuLu,’ she has strived to progress, mastering English and constantly working to better herself,” said Maria’s father, Sandro Martinez.
Lulu’s family shared that her undocumented status never deterred her from pursuing her ambitions. However, her aspirations are currently stalled as she remains in an ICE detention facility in Texas.
“I know that my daughter is not the only one going through this difficult time, but she is not a criminal, she does not deserve to be there,” Lourdes Martinez, Maria’s mother said.
Maria was pulled over for making an illegal U-turn. Local police discovered she was driving without a license and shared her undocumented status with ICE. Her friend, Cynthia Torres, says these past couple of weeks have been mind-blowing.
“For me, it’s unfair that you don’t have a chance as a person, as a human being, to gather everything. She just gets kidnapped, taken away from her family, from her life with no heads up,” Torres said.
Martinez’s family said they have legal counsel, and they have requested a hearing to see if she is entitled to bond. That hearing could take up to two to three weeks.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis said Florida is leading the nation in active cooperation with the Trump administration for immigration enforcement and deportation operations.
“We’re sorry that this young woman needs to be deported, but she does, and that’s on her parents for coming here illegally in 2015,” Rod Thompson with the Republican Party of Sarasota County said.
Local immigration advocates said this case is just one reason to push for change.
“We call on our elected officials to end family separation. We call on our elected officials to stop raids,” Sarasota pastor Lillie Brock said.
Right now, there are around 50,000 immigrant detainees in detention facilities across the U.S. White House officials are pushing for a minimum of 3,000 arrests a day.
10 Tampa Bay’s Chris Hurst contributed to this report.
