'If she didn’t have us, she would be toast’: a New Zealand mother’s fight to free her daughter from ICE detention
Everlee Wihongi was detained at Los Angeles airport on 10 April after she had returned to US from a family trip
TL;DR
- Everlee Wihongi, a New Zealander with a green card, was detained by ICE in Los Angeles on April 10th after returning from a family trip to New Zealand.
- Her detention stems from a conviction for possession of marijuana over a decade ago, which she had not been required to declare on previous international trips.
- Her mother, Betty Wihongi, describes harsh conditions at the Adelanto facility, including overcrowding and alleged mistreatment by guards.
- Wihongi was transferred from California to a detention center in Eloy, Arizona, losing her original immigration hearing date.
- Her lawyer is seeking to have her original conviction vacated, arguing that her previous lawyer failed to inform her of the potential consequences, including deportation.
- The New Zealand consulate is providing assistance, but the family wants the New Zealand government to exert diplomatic pressure on the US government regarding Wihongi's treatment.