ICE Arrest of Ecuadorian Au Pair Chantal Morales Rojas at Denver Airport

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detained 27‑year‑old Ecuadorian citizen Chantal Morales Rojas, an au pair residing in Oakland, while she was preparing to board a flight from Denver International Airport to Oakland on July 20. The arrest was captured on video by Bay Area resident Alycia Dantzker, who described Rojas as "kind, caring, and wise" and said a man approached her to question her immigration status before additional agents in civilian clothes gathered and took her into custody. ICE alleges Rojas overstayed a visa that expired in January 2025; her attorney Laura Lichter contends she entered the United States lawfully in early 2023 on a J‑1 exchange visitor visa, complied with program rules, and filed a timely extension request while her case is pending. Rojas is being held at an ICE detention facility in Colorado pending removal proceedings, and her lawyers have filed a habeas petition seeking her release. The incident occurs amid a reported rise in ICE detentions, with agency figures showing roughly 43,000 arrests in June.