PHOENIX _ A Phoenix woman in the country illegally who was considered a low priority for deportation by the Obama administration has been taken into custody by Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Immigrant advocates say her detention reflects the severity of the Trump administration's crackdown on illegal immigration.
Guadalupe Garcia de Rayos, 36, had lived in the country since she was 14. She was arrested in 2008 during a workplace raid ordered by then-Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio at Golfland Sunsplash amusement park in Mesa, Ariz., and convicted of felony identity theft for possessing false papers.
A mother of two, she continued to live in Arizona and checked in with ICE every six months. On her scheduled meeting Wednesday morning, she arrived at the ICE field office in Phoenix surrounded by supporters. An immigration attorney later told the crowd outside that Garcia de Rayos had been arrested.
"We all knew something could be different this time with the new administration," said Carlos Garcia, director of the immigrant advocacy group Puente Arizona. "She went in with the lawyer and didn't come out. That was pretty much all there was."
Garcia de Rayos' detention is an early indication of the reach of an executive order by President Donald Trump on Jan. 25, which expanded deportation priorities to include any immigrants in the country illegally who had been convicted of a criminal offense, regardless of its severity. Previous orders by President Barack Obama prioritized violent offenders.
Puente Arizona has filed a stay-of-removal request with ICE, and expected a decision by Thursday morning.
In the stay request, Puente Arizona argued that the original arrest and charge against Garcia de Rayos was unconstitutional, and should not be grounds for removal.
ICE officials in Phoenix and Washington did not return calls seeking comment. Garcia de Rayos was listed as "in custody" in an ICE detainee database.
