CPS graduating senior's mother released from ICE custody, teen remains detained

CHICAGO (WLS) -- It was a bittersweet moment for a mother released from Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody Tuesday night.

Liliana Navarrete arrived back in Chicago following the 300-plus mile drive from Kentucky Wednesday.

ABC7 Chicago is now streaming 24/7. Click here to watch

But her youngest son, a Chicago Public Schools student, remains in immigration custody and may miss his graduation next week.

It was an emotional reunion between mother and son Wednesday afternoon, as Navarrete got to hug and kiss her eldest son in Crown Point, Indiana Wednesday for the first time since her arrest by ICE two months ago.

"I am happy. But I feel incomplete," Navarrete said in Spanish.

She was also greeted by a close friend thrilled to have her back.

Her 18-year-old son, Ricardo, who was arrested along with her during a routine court hearing back in March, remains in custody.

"I wish I could trade places with him," Navarrete said.

She said she and her two sons arrived in the United States from Colombia in 2022 and immediately applied for asylum. Since their arrest, attorneys for Navarrete and Ricardo have worked diligently to get them released on bond while their immigration cases play out. But because the teen was sent to a different detention facility in Kentucky, his case remains pending.

"We do firmly believe that the law is on our side. Hopefully we will have him released soon," said Kelli Fennell, an attorney with Hughes Socol Piers Resnick & Dym.

The 18-year-old is set to graduate from high school this year and is committed to play soccer at Truman College in the fall.

"That's his biggest dream right now, to be released in time for his graduation," brother Steven said in Spanish.

Navarrete's attorney said she was able to get a bond hearing scheduled for Ricardo next Tuesday. That is one day before his graduation.