Chicago Public Schools custodian released after 42 days in ICE custody reunites with family
CHICAGO (WLS) -- A Chicago Public Schools custodian who was detained by federal immigration authorities at a routine immigration hearing has been released from ICE custody and reunited with his family after 42 days in detention.
Josue Pire-Hidalgo returned to Chicago and spoke exclusively with the ABC7 I-Team about his time in custody.
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"Every day felt like an eternity for me being in there. Conditions are not the best ,so it was very difficult for me to withstand detention under those conditions for that long," Pire-Hidalgo said through an attorney translating his remarks.
His wife, Yulexis Padilla Julio, was also detained in front of their children but was later released with an ankle monitor. While her husband remained in custody, she advocated for his release.
"Very conflicting feelings because here we are trying and we were doing things well we were following the process and so we were not expecting this to happen to us to him," Padilla Julio said.
Pire-Hidalgo said returning to everyday family life has been meaningful since his release.
"It was marvelous to be with my family again after being detained there for 42 days, just seeing them and spending time with them was incredible," he said.
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Carla Espinoza, an immigration attorney with EZG Immigration Law and a former Chicago immigration judge, said Pire-Hidalgo is originally from Venezuela. She said he works as a custodian at Farnsworth Elementary School, has no criminal record, holds temporary protected status and has a pending asylum application.
Despite those circumstances, Espinoza said, he was arrested by federal authorities at a routine immigration hearing.
When asked what justified the detention, Espinoza responded: "None. And I think that's what we're seeing, just a policy of detention, regardless of the circumstances of that particular individual."
Espinoza said immigration enforcement tactics have shifted, with authorities increasingly detaining non-citizens as they attend immigration check-ins and comply with legal requirements. She said those efforts are occurring alongside more targeted street enforcement operations, rather than the larger-scale enforcement campaigns seen in Chicago and elsewhere last year.
According to the Department of Homeland Security, immigration authorities made a record 51,000 arrests last month. An I-Team analysis of federal data found that nearly half the people arrested in Illinois since the start of President Donald Trump's second term had no criminal charges.
The same I-Team analysis found that 72% of people detained by ICE in Illinois have been deported since the start of the president's second term.
The Department of Homeland Security has maintained that its enforcement efforts are focused on what it describes as the "worst of the worst."
