Teresa Ochoa, a 31-year-old cook in Alamo, Texas, was arrested by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents outside her workplace at 5 a.m. and deported to Reynosa, Mexico within hours, according to Border Report. The arrest came just ten days after her 17-year-old son, Luis, a U.S. citizen and Edinburg High School senior preparing to join the Marines, was detained and pepper-sprayed by ICE agents while filming a raid, then shared the video online.

The family's attorney, Carlos Moctezuma Garcia, says the timing is no coincidence: "This is a clear message... about what the repercussions are for people who decide to speak out," he told Border Report. Teresa did not sign any voluntary departure paperwork before she was removed, leaving her husband to care for four children alone, including a 5-year-old daughter.

Whatever a person's view on immigration policy, due process and the right to speak out without fear of retaliation are not partisan values. A mother should not be removed from the country before her family gets a fair chance to respond, and a future Marine should not watch his mother taken from her job days after he documented what he witnessed.

The Department of Homeland Security and Secretary Mullin should explain why Teresa Ochoa's case moved so quickly, and ensure the Ochoa family, including a son about to serve his country, receives the fairness due process is meant to guarantee.

Sign the petition to demand accountability and due process for the Ochoa family, before more families are separated without a fair hearing.