This Is the “Real” Reason Why ICE Arrested Husband of Pregnant Wife at Gas Station

The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents have a job to do and will do it any cost. They will detain undocumented immigrants regardless of the circumstances, which means it doesn’t matter if you are a child with special needs on the way to the hospital, or if it’s a father of a sick child, or even a person just delivering a pizza, ICE has no sympathy and their latest arrest proves that.

On August 15, Maria del Carmen Venegas and her husband Joel Arrona-Lara were on their way to the hospital in San Bernardino, Ca, because Maria was scheduled for a Cesarean. She would soon be giving birth to her fifth child, however, their trip quickly turned horrible when Joel stopped at a gas station.

It seems as if ICE happened to be on their tail, and arrested Joel on the spot for being an undocumented immigrant. They paid no mind that he and his wife were en route to have their baby. A surveillance video at the gas station shows Maria in tears on the phone trying to figure out what to do. She ended up driving herself to the hospital and having her baby without her husband by her side.

“My husband needs to be here,” Maria said in an interview with a CBS News affiliate. “He had to wait for his son for so long, and someone just took him away.”

Now ICE has responded about why they took drastic measures — and their reason isn’t as cut and dry as it seems. According to The New York Times, ICE claims that Joel was arrested for a crime committed in Mexico.

“Mr. Arrona-Lara was brought to ICE’s attention due to an outstanding warrant issued for his arrest in Mexico on homicide charges,” the statement said, according to the Times. But Joel’s lawyer is calling bluff. He alleges that no crimes has been committed by Joel.

“According to the family, he has no criminal history in Mexico, and we did our own search through Mexican channels and we didn’t find anything under his name,” Emilio Amaya, Joel’s legal representative, said to the Times.

What’s very interesting about ICE’s claims about Joel is that they didn’t give that reason in their initial statement about his arrest on Friday. Two days after Joel was detained, ICE said: “Mr. Arrona-Lara, a citizen of Mexico illegally residing in the United States, was taken into custody Wednesday by ICE Fugitive Operations Team officers in San Bernardino, Calif. Mr. Arrona-Lara is currently in ICE custody pending removal proceedings with the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR).”

Only now are they saying he is wanted in Mexico for other crimes. So, really, who would you believe?

Here’s the lastest on this story:

ICE says the man is wanted in Mexico on homicide charges.

The man’s lawyer says NO such charges exist & that ICE doesnt mention homicide on their paperwork.

Someone is lying & based on historical evidence I have a feeling it’s not the lawyer. https://t.co/C7XDB8AcCo

— Juan Escalante (@JuanSaaa) August 20, 2018

“Even though the officers knew that she was pregnant, they didn’t really care and they still proceeded to do the arrest,” Amaya said to the Times. “So for us, on top of the unjustified arrest is the fact that they compromised the well-being of the child and the wife.”

If you’re interested in helping Maria and Joel’s family, click here on their Gofundme account.