WACO, Texas (KXXV) — A Waco family is facing potential separation after ICE officers detained 48-year-old Erika Rodriguez-Pizarro during a traffic stop Wednesday morning. Her daughter, Leslie Vivanco, said her mother has lived in the U.S. since she was 24-years-old, but has an expired visa.
- Erica Rodriguez Pizarro was detained by ICE while driving to work Wednesday morning after living in the U.S. since she was 24-years-old, but her visa expired in 2005.
- Her daughter Leslie Vivanco recognized the ICE officers as the same ones who detained her uncle Hugo Vivanco Moreno last month before deporting him to Mexico.
- Vivanco fears her family is being targeted by ICE and expressed concern that her 48-year-old mother may face deportation like her uncle did.
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BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
A Waco family is concerned about potential deportation of family members after ICE detained a mother who has lived in the U.S. for decades.
Erika Rodriguez-Pizarro was on her way to work early Wednesday morning when she was pulled over and taken into custody by Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers.
"Mom sends me a text and says, 'la policia me paro' which means the police pulled me over. I just said where, and I just never got a text back," her daughter Leslie Vivanco said.
Video of Erika Rodriguez-Pizarro being placed in ICE custody was recorded by her son.
Leslie Vivanco recognized the officers when she saw the video.
"They were the same officers that took my uncle about a month ago as well," Vivanco said.
According to Vivanco, her uncle Hugo Vivanco Moreno was also taken by ICE in July without explanation to the family. They recently discovered he had been deported.
"We didn't know where he was until he called us from Mexico," Vivanco said.
Now, Vivanco fears her 48-year-old mother could face the same outcome. Erika Rodriguez-Pizarro has had a visa since she was 6 years old, and moved to the U.S when she was 24 years old, but her visa expired in 2005.
"Knowing that she's not gonna be there when I get home either it's just incredibly heartbreaking," Vivanco said.
With both her uncle gone and her mother now detained, Vivanco expressed concern that her family is being targeted by immigration authorities.
"There has to be a better way. There has to be a better way of going about this, and there has to be a better way. These are human beings," Vivanco said.
25 News reporter Dominique Leh reached out to ICE about Rodriguez-Pizarro's detention, and they are working to fulfill the request.
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