Police called Immigration and Customs Enforcement on a Houston mother after she reported her ex-husband for domestic abuse.
The woman, a migrant from El Salvador who has lived in the Texas city for seven years, said she has suffered years of abuse by her ex, including repeated threats on her life.
A protective order against him was issued in 2024 because of the abuse, according to records seen by the Houston Chronicle, but in April, the man accosted his ex-wife while she was grocery shopping.
The woman called the Houston police department to report the incident and officers spoke to her outside her home for 40 minutes. The next day, she was told by an officer on the phone that they called ICE on her because of an active warrant, the newspaper reports.
“The officer who answered the phone told her that the police report noted that ICE had been contacted, and advised her not to make a report in person or risk being detained,” according to the Chronicle.
Now the woman, who has not been identified by the Chronicle, fears she can no longer report future incidents. “If he were to hurt me again, I don't think I could report it because that's where my story would end,” she told the outlet.
The mother of three’s immigration status was not immediately clear, but she reportedly arrived in the U.S. in 2018 with her then-husband after gang members threatened to kill the family if they did not leave El Salvador.
A Houston police department spokesperson told the outlet that the officer was following protocol and provided the woman with victim support.
“An officer responding to an assault call conducted a routine criminal history check on the reportee and discovered she had an active ICE warrant,” the spokesperson said. “As with any law enforcement warrant, the officer is required to notify the appropriate agency. The officer continued to assist the reportee professionally, providing her with victim support resources and maintaining a high level of service.”
A police report seen by the Chronicle noted that ICE “will attempt to arrest complainant another time due to no one taking custody of complainant's children.”
The woman has not been taken into federal custody as of yet, according to the newspaper, but campaigners fear that incidents such as this will deter women from reporting abuse to authorities.
“Anecdotally, we know there's a huge fear in the immigrant community about reporting any type of incident to law enforcement because of the fear of being deported,” Amy Smith, deputy director at the Harris County Domestic Violence Coordinating Council, told the outlet.
Smith added that the fear of being arrested for coming forward about abusive relationships makes them more likely to stay with their abusers.
Houston police have called ICE on at least 58 people with administrative warrants this year, the Chronicle reports, marking a significant jump since President Donald Trump’s return to the White House in January.
If you need support, call the domestic violence hotline on 1-800-799-SAFE (7233)
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