Local Woman who was Detained Earlier this Month is Now in El Salvador
Her family is facing an estimated $13,000 in legal expenses to bring her back to the U.S. It could take four years.
By Adele Uphaus
MANAGING EDITOR AND CORRESPONDENT
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Mirna Benitez, the local woman who was detained earlier this month, is now with family in El Salvador.
Lawyers for Benitez have filed an I-130 form petitioning for her to return and remain in the U.S., Laura told the Advance on Monday.
“Right now, the estimate is four years for her to come back,” she said.
Benitez has been in the United States for 13 years. She has worked as a contracted custodian at the same local school for 10 of those years and is a beloved member of the school community.
She was in the U.S. on a work visa, according to her friend Duane Edwards, vice chair of the Fredericksburg chapter of Virginia Organizing, who got to know Benitez in 2022 when she was among a group of contracted custodians advocating for better pay and working conditions.
“She was following all the rules,” Edwards told the Advance on Monday. “For her individually, she’s employed by a company that does work in [a local county], so she’s not only vetted by her work visa, but by the company that hired her, and by [the county]. So how many checks does a person like her have to go through?”
Benitez was notified by text message of an appointment at a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement office. She reported for the appointment on Sunday, December 7, at 8 a.m., and was detained and sent to a local jail in the Richmond area, then to a detention facility in Texas, and then to one in Louisiana.
Her daughter Laura—who is a U.S. citizen because her father is a U.S. citizen—said Benitez chose to be deported rather than detained because of the conditions at the facilities.
“She told me she couldn’t handle being [there] anymore,” Laura, who is a full-time nursing student at Germanna Community College, said. “I know my mom, she is a really strong person. If she’s telling me that, I’m going to be concerned.”
Laura said that when her mother arrived in El Salvador on Wednesday, December 17, she was taken directly to have a background check done.
“So that’s when they determine if you’re a criminal or not,” Laura said. “Since my mom was not a criminal they released her. She’s with family now.”
According to the most recent estimate, it will cost $13,000 for Benitez and her family to petition for her to return to the U.S. through the I-130 process. A Go Fund Me campaign has been set up to help with these expenses.
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