Long Wait Over for Canadian Woman and Autistic Daughter Released by ICE after Three Weeks
The wait has been particularly long for the family. After over three weeks in detention by US immigration police, a Canadian woman and her seven-year-old autistic daughter were released by ICE on Thursday evening.
Their relatives had to pay a $9,500 bail, while the mother agreed to wear an electronic bracelet until the end of the procedures. “Very happy to have my family back home… What a day!” said husband Edward Warner to The Guardian.
A “Terrifying” Arrest
According to a decision by a local judge, Tania Warner and her daughter Ayla posed no flight risk, allowing for their release. Their lawyer was able to demonstrate that their documents were correctly filled out to authorize an extended stay in the United States.
The mother will still have to appear with her daughter in front of several courts to determine if they can stay in the US or if they will be deported. Their relatives have been insisting from the start of the case that all their immigration documents are in order and that they have been detained arbitrarily.
Tania Warner and Alya were arrested on March 14 in Texas. At a border patrol checkpoint, the mother and her daughter were asked for their identification papers.
While the husband presented his American ID without any issues, Tania, who is Canadian, provided her Texas driver’s license, work visa, and official visa. “After that, they took her away, saying they needed to take her fingerprints to get more information, and she never came out,” recalled Edward Warner, describing the moment as “terrifying.”
