An illegal immigrant who says she has lived in the United States since 1989 delivered an angry speech only in Spanish, demanding a pathway to citizenship and an end to immigration raids. Margarita Cielo Balbuena accused federal immigration authorities of “terrorizing” Dover, New Jersey, and subjecting her to physical and psychological abuse. She also complained about the food and conditions she encountered during two months in federal immigration detention.
Balbuena spoke through an interpreter during an August 11th press conference at Calvary Baptist Church in Morristown, New Jersey. House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) joined Democratic Reps. Analilia Mejia (D-NJ) and Rob Menendez (D-NJ) at the event, which focused on ICE enforcement and alleged conditions inside immigration detention centers. Balbuena appeared alongside the Democrats after participating in a private roundtable with families affected by ICE.
She began by asking the lawmakers to champion sweeping changes to federal immigration law. “We need a path to citizenship for those of us that have been present at least seven years in this country,” the interpreter said on Balbuena’s behalf. “We need a stop to these raids that immigration is using to terrorize Dover.”
Balbuena pointed to the length of time she has spent in the country and her family’s business as reasons she should receive amnesty. “Is it not just that someone like me, who has been in this country since 1989, who pays taxes, who is a homeowner, a business owner, who gives work to others, someone who has children and grandchildren who are born in this country, that I have to suffer the psychological and physical abuse?” she asked. Balbuena and her husband own the 3 Hermanos Mexican Restaurant in Rockaway, according to Morristown Green.
She continued by describing her May 23rd arrest and ensuing detention. “And that I have to also suffer the humiliation that is the violent arrest and detention in an immigration detention center,” the interpreter said. Balbuena claimed that she was held at the Elizabeth Detention Center for two months and that the facility provided detainees with spoiled food.
“I suffered two months of detention in the Elizabeth Detention Center,” Balbuena said. “They gave us spoiled milk, rotten, spoiled food. They gave us spoiled food that smelled bad. You could tell it was expired. Chicken patties that had a rancid flavor.” She also accused agents of using pepper spray during the arrest and said her husband, who was recovering from back surgery, was forcibly removed from their vehicle.
Watch Balbuena make demands via an interpreter here:
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The Department of Homeland Security provided a sharply different account of the arrest. A DHS spokesperson said ICE agents had warrants for Balbuena and her husband, Filemon Ruiz-Cielo, describing both as “criminal illegal aliens from Mexico.” The department said Balbuena has a grand-larceny conviction, while her husband’s history includes arrests for cocaine possession, simple assault, and failure to report an accident. DHS further alleged that Ruiz-Cielo assaulted officers and resisted their commands during the vehicle stop.
“ICE law enforcement officers used the minimum amount of force necessary to make the arrest,” the department said. DHS added that both Balbuena and her husband entered the United States “at an unknown date and place without inspection” and would receive hearings before an immigration judge. “To be clear, work authorization does NOT give someone legal status to be in our country,” the department said.
DHS also rejected the allegations about the alleged conditions inside its facilities, saying detainees receive meals, water, medical treatment, and opportunities to contact relatives and attorneys. The department encouraged illegal immigrants to use the CBP Home App and accept the government’s offer of $2,600 and a free flight to leave voluntarily. “If not, you will be arrested and deported without a chance to return,” DHS said.
Featured image credit: screengrab from the embedded video.