My Brother is Currently at Elmwood Jail & Faces Potential ICE Detainment

Editor's Note: As of the beginning of March 2026, there have been 46 people confirmed to have been taken in the last six months by ICE immediately upon release from Elmwood Jail in Milpitas. While County officials say they do not cooperate with ICE the fear of a loved one being detained from Elmwood Jail is real and this author is calling on the County to honor the sanctuary policy.

Being a Latina in the US feels so heavy right now, this topic is incredibly difficult & emotional for me to talk about and I am lost for words. Every single day my family wakes up knowing that my older brother is inside Elmwood Correctional Facility, and with that comes a constant fear, not just about when he will be released, but about who might be waiting for him when he walks out those doors.

Knowing that your loved one could be picked up by ICE after serving their time is a different kind of heartbreak. It feels like a second punishment. We live in California, a state that calls itself a sanctuary, a place where families are supposed to be protected. Yet every day we worry that my brother could be taken away from us, and from his children. 

This doesn’t just affect him. It affects his children who love their father and need him. It affects my mom, who already cries herself to sleep some nights, wondering if she will lose her son not to distance, but to deportation. It affects me, knowing I may have to explain to his kids where their father is. The emotional toll is overwhelming. The anxiety never stops. We are living in fear of something that shouldn’t be happening in our own community.

We are deeply disappointed in Elmwood and in Santa Clara County for allowing this to happen. Our understanding was that local institutions would not cooperate in ways that tear families apart. When a facility chooses to coordinate in a way that puts loved ones at risk of ICE pickup, it sends a message that our families are disposable. That our children’s pain doesn’t matter.

My mom feels betrayed. She believed that once her son served his time, he would be allowed to come home and rebuild his life. Instead, we’re preparing for the possibility that he could be taken away entirely. That’s not justice, that’s cruelty layered on top of punishment.

To the county and to Elmwood, I want to say this: These are human beings. These are fathers, mothers, sons, daughters, brothers and sisters. These are children who will suffer lifelong trauma if their parents are taken from them. Policies are not just paperwork they have faces, they have names, they have families behind them.

We are not asking for special treatment. We are asking for humanity. We are asking you to honor the spirit of sanctuary and to stop participating in practices that separate families and destabilize communities.

My brother, & all the other loved ones who are at risk of being deported at the time of their release, deserve the chance to come home, and hug their family.  Please don’t leave my brother’s kids wondering why their community let him be taken away.

We will continue to speak out, because when one child of an immigrant parent cries we all cry. Our family and so many others should not have to live in this fear.