An immigrant mother and daughter were at a Central Florida hospital for treatment after a car accident earlier this month when they were arrested on immigration warrants, with emotional video of the incident showing the older woman in handcuffs as the younger one, still in a hospital gown, screams and sobs.
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The mother’s sister, whose video of one of the arrests sparked outrage on social media, joined immigration advocates at a news conference Friday to denounce the police action as cruel.
But both the Polk County Sheriff’s Office and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement said the women, ages 39 and 19, were arrested because they’d overstayed their visas. The mother-and-daughter pair, who are from Ecuador, have since self-deported to their native country.
The video shot Aug. 20 shows Grace Stephanie Calero Cabanilla in handcuffs in a hospital room at HCA Florida Poinciana Hosptial. Her daughter, Giulianna Mia Carriel Calero, still wearing her hospital gown and sitting on her hospital bed, hugs her and screams “No!” as the two sob. The mother is led out of the room and away from her daughter as she continues crying.
The footage, taken by Gia Calero, has received hundreds of thousands of views on social media after it was featured on CNN.
“Why did this happen? They’re not criminals, it was just a mother leaving work with her daughter?…Where is the humanity? Where are their human rights?” Gia Calero said at the news conference. “This is a person. They have dreams” and only want to feel safe in this country.
The arrests of her sister and niece have added to the fears in immigrant communities, she said.
The two were at the hospital receiving treatment after being involved in a car accident. Deputies investigating the crash went to the scene of the accident and later to the hospital to speak with the women. At some point, they learned both woman had ICE removal holds. Deputies confirmed with ICE that the women had civil arrest warrants and then arrested them at the hospital after they had been discharged, the sheriff’s office said.
ICE, when reached for comment, reiterated what the sheriff’s office said about the arrests.
But the family’s attorney, Phillip Arroyo, said Friday that the two were arrested in the hospital’s emergency room while still receiving treatment. The women later signed voluntary departure forms, and ICE escorted them to the airport and placed them on the plane back to Ecuador, he said.
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The Friday news conference was held just down the street from the hospital where the arrests took place.
Arroyo said Calero Cabanilla could have stayed in the country legally since she applied for asylum before her visa expired. He added that her daughter’s visa expires in 2032. The only reason the Calero Cabanilla chose to self-deport instead of fighting the case, he said, was because she didn’t want her daughter to remain in jail for health reasons, as the teenager suffered a seizure at the hospital.
Gia Calero said she was upset that she still hasn’t received answers about the arrest from law enforcement or the hospital.
A spokesperson for HCA Florida said Friday in a statement that “we are required to comply with laws and regulations that govern interactions with verified members of law enforcement when they enter our hospital.”
But, it added, “Our focus and priority always is taking care of every patient who comes through our emergency room doors, regardless of immigration status…at all times and no matter what the situation, we do not deviate from our goal of providing the medical care our patients need and deserve.”
The family has set up a GoFundMe page to support the two. It has raised $10,000 of its $20,000 goal as of Friday.
“Grace and Giulianna were involved in a nearly fatal car accident that left their car flipped over and totaled. They were taken by ambulance to HCA Florida Poinciana Hospital with neck and other bodily injuries, already in shock and trying to process what had just happened. While they were in that vulnerable state, an officer questioned them about their immigration status,” the GoFundMe said.
“After hours of confusion and fear, Grace was taken away in handcuffs despite her injuries, and 19-year-old Giulianna was left alone,” the page added.
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