MONTCLARE — A Montclare family faced a crisis on Thursday when federal agents detained a mother and two men in Little Village, in operations tied to immigration enforcement.
Federal agents apprehended two men early Thursday morning after stopping their vehicle near the intersection of South Kedvale Avenue and 26th Street in Little Village.
Later that day, Catalina Mota Martinez was taken into custody outside her home in Montclare. Relatives reported that the incident unfolded dramatically, with agents breaking her car window to remove her.
“She’s been here more than half of her life; this is her home. It’s unfair for them to try and take her and send her somewhere she’s unfamiliar with,” said Martinez’s daughter, who requested anonymity for safety reasons. “They treated her like she was dangerous.”
At approximately 4:20 p.m. Thursday, Martinez went live on Facebook as federal agents surrounded her vehicle. During the three-and-a-half-minute livestream, she can be heard requesting to see a warrant and demanding the agents’ names and badge numbers.
An agent associated with the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives held a hand over his face but eventually revealed his identity. The agent then asked another if he should proceed to break Martinez’s window.
In the video, a masked agent approaches and informs Martinez that he must take her away for processing, insinuating that she had something pending.
“I had no idea that I had something pending,” Martinez responded, confused.
After showing Martinez what appeared to be a warrant, the agent warned her that he would break her window if she did not comply with their demands. Shortly thereafter, the livestream ended.
Martinez’s daughter recounted her shock when she witnessed her mother’s livestream while at work.
“I called her boyfriend, who was nearby but not close to her. He informed me that they had surrounded her, broken the window, and taken her away,” she said.
As of Friday evening, Martinez was being held in the Clay County Justice Center in Brazil, Indiana.
Her daughter managed to speak with her later in the evening, obtaining a case number for her mother’s situation.
Martinez, a mother of three who operates a business selling Tupperware, has now enlisted the help of a lawyer. To assist with legal fees, her daughter created a GoFundMe page to gather donations from the community.
Martinez’s youngest child, only 13, is currently in the care of his father, making the situation even more challenging for the family.
“It’s devastating; you feel hopeless. I was so far away, and I couldn’t get to her to help,” said Martinez’s daughter. “She doesn’t get in trouble. She has a driver’s license, works from home, and dedicates her life to her family.”
Earlier in the day, at around 8:30 a.m., two men were detained by federal agents during a traffic stop in Little Village. According to Diego Morales, a lead volunteer with the Pilsen Rapid Response Network, his organization received multiple photos and videos documenting the incident through a statewide rapid response network.
Volunteers, including Camila Gavin from the Pilsen Rapid Response Network, arrived at the scene shortly after. Gavin spoke to neighboring businesses and gathered information about the detained men.
She discovered the car they were taken from, with its windows rolled down, revealing belongings inside, including lunchboxes and documents. After finding a man’s name and address on a document, Gavin contacted the man’s landlord, who spoke positively of the detained individuals.
“They were some of the best tenants he’d ever had,” said Gavin, noting that they lived with their nephew. The landlord decided to wait until the nephew returned home from work to break the news about his relatives’ detention.
“Despite the fear, there was a really beautiful show of community and solidarity as people came together to help,” Gavin remarked.
The Pilsen Rapid Response Network worked to connect the nephew of the detained men with legal assistance. According to Morales, both men are currently held at the Marion County Jail in Indiana.
Concern for the nephew’s well-being was palpable, as he lacks other family support in the area. Gavin added, “It’s very sad, and I’m concerned for him because they all paid rent together.”
Morales emphasized the importance of community mobilization in the face of current political climates.
“President Donald Trump’s efforts for mass deportations are expensive and logistically difficult,” he noted. “They rely on instilling fear to discourage individuals from staying in the country.”
He added that there is an ongoing effort in their city to defend the rights and safety of immigrant neighbors.
“While threats to their safety are real, we’re seeing an entire community ready to support those in need,” Morales concluded.
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