Mom of U.S.-born autistic child faces deportation after ICE detains her in Kansas City

Eric Adler, The Kansas City Star on May 28, 2025

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KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The dire worry on Heidy Cifuentes’ mind — the one still bringing her to tears after she was arrested Tuesday in Kansas City during an appointment with federal immigration agents — is who will take care of Yaretzi, her 5-year-old daughter with autism.

There is also her son, Jeancarlo, who is 12, and her daughter Kairy, who is 8.

All the children are citizens, born in the United States, and attending school in the Kansas City region.

But on Tuesday, when Cifuentes, who illegally entered the U.S. 17 years ago from Guatemala, arrived for what she thought was her yearly appointment to check in with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials, she was detained and taken into custody.

On Wednesday, she was expected to soon be transferred the Chase County Detention Center in Cottonwood Falls, Kansas, in preparation for deportation.

“All this time, ICE has known that she’s the mother of these U.S. citizen children,” said Cifuentes’ Kansas City immigration attorney, Angela Martinez.

Martinez has filed what is termed an I-246 application for stay of deportation to keep her in the country on humanitarian grounds: Yaretzi needs her mother.

“She has no criminal history,” Martinez said, adding that Cifuentes has, over the years, legally acquired an official work permit and a social security number.

“I think that is important to emphasize. She has no criminal history. One of her children has special needs.”

Entered the U.S. illegally 17 years ago

Deportation has long been a possibility for Cifuentes. In 2010, she was served with a deportation order of removal in federal immigration court.

“ICE had been letting her stay,” Martinez explained. “Every year she would go to these check-ins, just to make sure she was complying, showing them that she was still in the U.S. and living where she was supposed to be. Yesterday, when she went to check in, they detained her.”

Prior to his second election, Donald Trump pledged to launch what he called “the largest deportation operation in American history.” At first, Trump said the efforts by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, which includes both ICE and U.S. Customs and Border Protection, would focus on deporting immigrants without legal status who have criminal backgrounds.

Since the election, the Trump administration has overseen a deportation plan with far greater reach to include student visa holders and immigrants in the U.S. on Temporary Protected Status. The Trump administration has also expanded the use of “expedited removal” allowing the deportation of immigrants who entered the U.S. within the last two years.

‘Tearing families apart’

On Tuesday, between 50 to 60 protesters chanted against expedited removal and held signs, such as “No ICE in Court,” in Washington Square Park, across from the building at 2345 Grand Blvd., that houses federal immigration court in Kansas City.

“It is a matter of priorities,” Martinez said of Cifuentes’ arrest. “It’s really a matter of what do we do with these kids.”

The children’s father, who also lacks legal immigration status, did not want his name used out of concern that he, too, might be detained and parted from his children.

Humberto Merida, Cifuentes’ brother-in-law, said that the Cifuentes family is deeply worried. Merida said Yaretzi is largely non-verbal. He said that Yaretzi’s mother, who works cleaning machinery at a pork plant, is one of the few people who is able to communicate with her daughter.

“Yaretzi receives speech therapy. She helps her communicate. She is the person she trusts most in the world,” Merida said. “She is the only one who can calm her when she is overwhelmed.”

Over the last two days, Merida said, the 5-year-old has been in tears.

“We are watching the government. The government is tearing apart families,” Merida said. “They are not criminals. They’re just Hispanic. These are people who work hard, pay taxes, build communities and believe in the American dream. And yet they are getting deported now.

“We pray that the law changes.”

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