What Happened
On Feb. 2, 2026, ICE agents arrested Vega, an Ecuadorian mother, in Minneapolis. Her daughter, 11, told Telemundo that her mother had only stepped out to buy her food when agents took her into custody. With no other family close by, the girl went into the care of a local activist, who told reporters immigration authorities had initially sought to take the child into custody as well.
At the time, the family had no confirmed plan for what would happen if Vega were deported. Relatives in Ecuador described a household under strain: Vega’s mother was hospitalized after learning of the arrest, and Vega’s older daughter, back in Ecuador, had recently undergone surgery. Vega was released after nine days in ICE custody and reunited with her daughter on Feb. 12, 2026.
