Family seeks release of Colombian father detained by ICE at Doral gas station
A South Florida family is pleading for the release of a Colombian father who was detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) while on his way to work, despite having a pending political asylum application, according to his daughter.
Maria Alejandra Betancourt said her father, Carlos Hugo Betancourt, was detained around noon on July 8 while stopping for gas at a Marathon station on Northwest 58th Street in Doral.
"I feel very worried and sad," Betancourt told CBS News Miami.
According to Betancourt, her father called her moments after ICE agents approached him and questioned him about his immigration status as he was pumping gas. She said the call was cut short when an officer took the phone.
"At that moment the ICE officer took the phone," she said. "I asked, 'What is happening? What's your name?'"
She said she heard her father say he was being taken to the Miramar processing center before the call ended.
"I asked, 'Why are you detaining my dad?' He didn't answer," Betancourt said. "I asked again and again, and he just said, 'He's illegal here. He didn't have documentation.' I told him he has an asylum process."
Betancourt showed CBS News Miami documents she said demonstrate her father filed for political asylum after arriving in the United States on Feb. 16, 2022. According to the paperwork, the asylum application was submitted in January 2023.
She also provided copies of his employment authorization card and Florida driver's license, saying she does not understand why her father was detained while apparently carrying out an ordinary stop for gas before work.
Doral City Councilwoman Maureen Porras, who is also an immigration attorney, said she is concerned about what she describes as an increase in immigration enforcement actions involving people with pending immigration cases.
"It's very concerning that we have ICE in our community picking up hardworking and law-abiding citizens," Porras said.
Porras said she has seen multiple cases involving individuals with pending political asylum applications or other forms of immigration relief who have nevertheless been taken into custody.
"It's something that's been happening," she said. "We have individuals that have pending political asylum applications, have other pending applications for relief that have gotten picked up."
Betancourt said her father has remained at the Miramar processing center since his arrest and hopes he will be released soon.
In a statement to CBS News Miami, ICE said Carlos Hugo Betancourt is being held because he is unlawfully present in the United States.
"Carlos Hugo Betancur, an illegal alien from Colombia, was arrested June 7 by ICE officers for being unlawfully present in the United States," an ICE spokesperson said in the statement. "Betancur overstayed his visa in violation of U.S. immigration law. He will remain in custody pending his hearing before an immigration judge."
The family disputes the characterization of his case, arguing that his pending asylum application and work authorization should have been taken into account as his immigration case proceeds through the courts.