On June 9, 2025, Nancy Martinez was taking her 8-year-old son and 13-year-old daughter to school in New Haven, Connecticut when masked, armed ICE agents in unmarked vehicles surrounded her car. They told her they were "with the police." They handcuffed her, took her from her still-running vehicle, and drove away. The entire thing took less than four minutes. Her children stood on the sidewalk weeping. No one confirmed whether they had a caretaker — as required by law.

No warrant was shown.

In the back of the ICE car, Nancy had her first ever panic attack. A month later, after being moved between detention centers, she was deported to Mexico — away from the children she had raised in New Haven for 15 years. She remains there now.

Her daughter Monse had to drop her normal life to care for her younger brother, who has developmental disabilities. He interrupts class with crying. He lashes out at uniformed personnel. He cannot sleep in his own bedroom. He is terrified that Monse will be taken too. Both children are American citizens.

"They took away my best friend, my confidant and hard-working provider and parent, and my safe place," Monse said.

Nancy Martinez is now suing the federal government with the Yale Law School's Worker and Immigrant Rights Advocacy Clinic — for assault, recklessness, and the intentional infliction of emotional distress on herself and her children. Senator Richard Blumenthal stood beside her family and said ICE agents were wrong.

We're calling on the federal government to answer for what was done to Nancy Martinez and her children — and to ensure that no family is ever subjected to this kind of traumatic, warrantless arrest again.

We're calling on the federal court hearing Nancy Martinez's case to rule in her favor and send an unambiguous message: masked, armed ICE agents who handcuff a mother in front of her children, show no warrant, and leave American citizen kids on a sidewalk without confirming their safety are not above the law — and they will be held accountable for it.