Elizabeth Zuna Zuna Caisaguano was on her way to school on January 6 when she was arrested by anti-immigration police. Like several Minnesota children, she was deported to a detention center in Texas.
While her mother accompanied her to school in the suburbs of Minneapolis, Elizabeth Zuna Zuna Caisaguano, 10, was arrested on January 6 by anti-immigration police (ICE), before being deported more than 1,900 kilometers away, to the Dilley detention center in Texas.
His father tells CNN that day when he thought he lost his daughter: “She (the little girl’s mother, Editor’s note) called me to tell me that they had been arrested by ICE. But she told me they were going to drop her off at school. So I thought everything was fine and we hung up,” says this Ecuadorian immigrant, whose family applied for asylum in 2020 – their case is still being processed.
An hour later, with no news from his daughter, Luis decides to go to school. “Several staff members were waiting for a vehicle to arrive to drop her off. But nothing happened,” says social worker Tracy Xiong. “During the morning, we made a lot of calls to locate the child. In the afternoon, we learned that Elizabeth and her mother had already been taken to Texas,” she explains.
Many children arrested
This story is reminiscent of that of Liam Ramos, a 5-year-old boy sent to detention in Texas at the end of January with his father, whose arrest photo created a stir across the Atlantic.
According to the director of his school, Zena Stenvik, one of the officers took the little boy to knock on the door of his home “to check if anyone else was there”, thus using him “as bait” to arrest other members of his family. A version contested by ICE, which assured that Liam had been “abandoned” after his father fled.
This outcry on social networks and the mobilization of several elected Democrats contributed to the release of this father and his son. But this is not the case for all families detained in American detention camps.
According to CNN, “at least six other children from his school district made the same trip to the Dilley detention center.” The Department of Homeland Security, however, denies targeting “children or schools”. “ICE works to keep families together,” its spokesperson said.
Methods widely criticized
After a month of detention, Elizabeth and her mother were also released, without any explanation being given to them. But their fight is not over. Luis Zuna Caisaguano told CNN that he intended to complete their asylum application. At the same time, a GoFundMe fundraiser was created to help the family cover the costs linked to this deportation.
The media coverage of this umpteenth case should not improve the popularity of the ICE. According to a recent YouGov poll for CBS News61% of Americans believe that the resources deployed by the immigration police are disproportionate.
In Minnesota, protests continue. Because if Tom Homan, Donald Trump’s emissary, announced the “immediate” withdrawal of 700 police officers, anger is still brewing. Especially since the death of Renee Nicole Good, shot and killed by an ICE agent the day after the arrest of little Elizabeth, and that of Alex Pretti a few days later.
The Trump administration tried to justify their deaths, arguing that these two Americans endangered the police. Versions undermined by videos of the dramas circulating massively on social networks.
date: 2026-02-07 23:42:00
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