Erasmo Ibuado-Reyes, a 46-year-old father of four including two children with disabilities, faces separation from his family after U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents deported him to Mexico. Agents pulled him over in Phoenix, Arizona, on February 10 while he drove to his drywall installation job.
The Traffic Stop and Arrest
ICE officers acted on a tip about Ibuado-Reyes’ undocumented status. During the stop, he confirmed his Mexican citizenship. Immigration records showed a prior deportation in 2011 without authorization to return. He also had earlier arrests: shoplifting in April 1998 and disturbing the peace in Denver in January 2011, according to Department of Homeland Security records.
Ibuado-Reyes believes agents targeted him due to his work truck. “I think they just stopped me. They saw a work truck,” he stated. “I was just working. I was taking care of my children and my wife.”
Court Hearing and Judge’s Praise
At a February 17 detention hearing, Magistrate Judge John Boyle commended Ibuado-Reyes’ 20-year career in drywall installation. “Everything I see here indicates that you’ve done nothing but work hard to try and support [your family], especially your two special needs children who need you more than anything,” Boyle said. “And from what I can tell, doing nothing but supporting your family, which has to be more difficult in your circumstance, and your family’s circumstance, than many.”
The judge ordered his release from criminal custody pending trial. However, ICE immediately took him into immigration detention, leading to deportation on March 7.
Impact on Family
Two of the children suffer from mitochondrial disease and require wheelchairs. Ibuado-Reyes’ wife, Rosa Verenice-Calderon, 45, relied on him for financial support and daily caregiving, such as lifting the children from wheelchairs into bed. “Right now, I don’t know what I am going to do,” she said. “I agree that criminals should be arrested, but it really seems unfair to people who came here to work.”
From Mexico, Ibuado-Reyes expressed distress: “I’m just suffering, I’m in agony.”
Broad Immigration Enforcement Context
The case unfolds amid shifts in immigration priorities, with emphasis on targeting criminals over broad enforcement. Sources indicate President Trump, after discussions with his wife and Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, seeks to moderate rhetoric on mass deportations.
The White House countered reports of policy changes. Trump spokesman Abigail Jackson stated, “Nobody is changing the Administration’s immigration enforcement agenda. President Trump’s highest priority has always been the deportation of illegal alien criminals who endanger American communities.”
Recently, White House border czar Tom Homan assumed duties in Minneapolis following shootings involving immigration officials. This followed the reassignment and subsequent dismissal of former Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, replaced by Senator Markwayne Mullin to reduce urban disruptions.
