{"id":1315032,"date":"2026-03-10T18:32:46","date_gmt":"2026-03-10T23:32:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wisconsinwatch.org\/?p=1315032"},"modified":"2026-03-13T12:22:02","modified_gmt":"2026-03-13T17:22:02","slug":"ice-re-arrests-sheboygan-falls-mother-after-judge-halted-deportation-and-cleared-green-card-path","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wisconsinwatch.org\/2026\/03\/ice-re-arrests-sheboygan-falls-mother-after-judge-halted-deportation-and-cleared-green-card-path\/","title":{"rendered":"ICE re-arrests Sheboygan Falls mother after judge halted deportation and cleared green card path","gt_translate_keys":[{"key":"rendered","format":"text"}]},"content":{"rendered":"Reading Time: <\/b><\/span> 2<\/span> minutes<\/span><\/span>\n

Editor’s note: This story was updated March 13 to include a comment from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers arrested a Sheboygan Falls woman during a routine check-in this week, taking her back into custody just months after an immigration court judge canceled her deportation order and began the process of securing her a green card.

Elvira Benitez, 51, spent six months in ICE custody last year after accidentally crossing the Canadian border during a family road trip in Michigan. Benitez fled an abusive home in Michoac\u00e1n, Mexico, as a teenager and lived without legal status for 35 years, her family said. She first entered the immigration court system after last year\u2019s arrest.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She was among more than 25,000 people arrested by ICE in July 2025 alone. Roughly a third of immigrants arrested by the agency nationally between January and mid-October 2025 had neither a prior criminal history nor pending criminal charges, including Benitez. 

In her absence, her two adult daughters \u2014 both U.S. citizens \u2014 took in their school-age siblings. Judge Richard Drucker of the Cleveland immigration court cited her younger children\u2019s struggles during Benitez\u2019s initial detention as a reason to cancel her deportation and set her on the path to legal residency. <\/p>\n\n\n

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\"A
Elvira Benitez, a Sheboygan Falls resident, waited over a month in custody for federal immigration authorities to complete a biometric background check, extending her time in detention as she awaited a possible green card. Months after her release, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers re-arrested her during a routine check-in. She is shown at a birthday party. (Courtesy of Crystal Aguilar)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Drucker initially signaled a willingness to grant Benitez relief in early November, but the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) delayed her background check \u2014 necessary for her path to a green card \u2014 for over a month, eventually releasing her in mid-December. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The agency soon appealed Drucker\u2019s order, stalling Benitez\u2019s green card process. She continued attending mandatory check-ins at the Milwaukee DHS office, where ICE agents arrested her Tuesday morning before transferring her to a holding facility outside Chicago.

ICE arrested at least 107 people at the DHS office in downtown Milwaukee between January and mid-October 2025 \u2014 more than at any other Wisconsin site named in ICE arrest records. Three-quarters of those immigrants  had no pending criminal charges or past convictions, compared with just 17% of all immigrants arrested by ICE in Wisconsin during the same period.

Benitez had no other run-ins with law enforcement that could have triggered her recent arrest, said Crystal Aguilar, her eldest daughter. In Aguilar\u2019s view, the arrest calls into question \u201cwhether families who follow the rules can rely on the decisions made in immigration court,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She complied with all requirements following her initial release, including attending every ICE supervision appointment, according to her attorney, Marc Christopher. DHS was not legally required to arrest her while its appeal is pending, he added. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Benitez\u2019s detention serves \u201cno legitimate public safety purpose,\u201d Christopher wrote in a Tuesday press release. \u201cIt separates a mother from her vulnerable U.S. citizen children despite a federal immigration judge already recognizing the extreme hardship her removal would cause them.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

An ICE spokesperson told Wisconsin Watch that Benitez will remain in custody \u201cpending further immigration proceedings.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBeing in detention is a choice,\u201d they added, suggesting that undocumented immigrants should self-deport or face arrest and a permanent ban on re-entering the U.S.<\/p>\n\n\n\t\n\t\t

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Months after an immigration judge canceled her deportation order and cited family hardship in setting her on a path to legal residency, ICE officers arrested Elvira Benitez during a routine check-in in Milwaukee.<\/p>\n","protected":false,"gt_translate_keys":[{"key":"rendered","format":"html"}]},"author":1846,"featured_media":1315034,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"single-feature.php","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"gigafact_has_fact_brief":false,"gigafact_remote_fact_brief_post_id":0,"gigafact_remote_sync_timestamp":"","gigafact_remote_sync_status":"","gigafact_remote_sync_response":"","gigafact_has_been_published":false,"newspack_ads_suppress_ads":false,"newspack_popups_has_disabled_popups":false,"newspack_sponsor_sponsorship_scope":"","newspack_sponsor_native_byline_display":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_native_category_display":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_underwriter_style":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_underwriter_placement":"inherit","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"apple_news_api_created_at":"","apple_news_api_id":"","apple_news_api_modified_at":"","apple_news_api_revision":"","apple_news_api_share_url":"","apple_news_cover_media_provider":"image","apple_news_coverimage":0,"apple_news_coverimage_caption":"","apple_news_cover_video_id":0,"apple_news_cover_video_url":"","apple_news_cover_embedwebvideo_url":"","apple_news_is_hidden":"","apple_news_is_paid":"","apple_news_is_preview":"","apple_news_is_sponsored":"","apple_news_maturity_rating":"","apple_news_metadata":"\"\"","apple_news_pullquote":"","apple_news_pullquote_position":"","apple_news_slug":"","apple_news_sections":[],"apple_news_suppress_video_url":false,"apple_news_use_image_component":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_newspack_byline_active":false,"_newspack_byline":"","newspack_content_restriction_is_exempt":false,"newspack_featured_image_position":"beside","newspack_post_subtitle":"Months after an immigration judge canceled her deportation order and cited family hardship in setting her on a path to legal residency, ICE officers arrested Elvira Benitez during a routine check-in in Milwaukee.\n","newspack_article_summary_title":"Overview:","newspack_article_summary":"","newspack_hide_updated_date":false,"newspack_show_updated_date":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"_wpas_customize_per_network":false},"categories":[87],"tags":[36,19253,672,3656,5077,3617],"partner":[],"newspack_spnsrs_tax":[],"type-of-work":[],"coauthors":[19274],"class_list":["post-1315032","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-justice-public-safety","tag-immigration","tag-immigration-enforcement","tag-milwaukee","tag-news","tag-sheboygan","tag-wisconsin-watch","entry"],"fact_brief":null,"apple_news_notices":[],"parsely":{"version":"1.1.0","canonical_url":"https:\/\/wisconsinwatch.org\/2026\/03\/ice-re-arrests-sheboygan-falls-mother-after-judge-halted-deportation-and-cleared-green-card-path\/","smart_links":{"inbound":0,"outbound":0},"traffic_boost_suggestions_count":0,"meta":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","headline":"ICE re-arrests Sheboygan Falls mother after judge halted deportation and cleared green card path","url":"http:\/\/wisconsinwatch.org\/2026\/03\/ice-re-arrests-sheboygan-falls-mother-after-judge-halted-deportation-and-cleared-green-card-path\/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"http:\/\/wisconsinwatch.org\/2026\/03\/ice-re-arrests-sheboygan-falls-mother-after-judge-halted-deportation-and-cleared-green-card-path\/"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wisconsinwatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/asse2Q1A0269-scaled.jpg?fit=140%2C93&quality=100&ssl=1","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wisconsinwatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/asse2Q1A0269-scaled.jpg?fit=2560%2C1707&quality=100&ssl=1"},"articleSection":"Justice & Safety","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Paul Kiefer \/ Wisconsin Watch"}],"creator":["Paul Kiefer \/ Wisconsin Watch"],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Wisconsin Watch","logo":"https:\/\/wisconsinwatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/ww-logo-footer-1.png"},"keywords":["immigration","immigration enforcement","milwaukee","news","sheboygan","wisconsin watch"],"dateCreated":"2026-03-10T23:32:46Z","datePublished":"2026-03-10T23:32:46Z","dateModified":"2026-03-13T17:22:02Z"},"rendered":"