ICE detains Venezuelan mother and six-year-old daughter in Charlotte

A Venezuelan mother, Ydienays Dariana Dominguez, and her six-year-old daughter, Zoeh, were detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in Charlotte, North Carolina, on September 14. The family, who arrived in the U.S. in 2024, was attending a routine immigration check-in appointment when the detention occurred.

The incident follows a series of legal complications. Approximately one month prior, the family attended a scheduled virtual asylum hearing, but the judge failed to appear. Following this failed hearing, a deportation order was issued. In an attempt to appeal the decision, the family sought help from an individual claiming to be a legal representative, who allegedly defrauded them by failing to file the necessary appeal.

Advocacy organization Siembra NC, which is supporting the family, stated that the mother and child were following all required procedures and were misled by both the fraudulent legal representative and the subsequent issuance of a deportation order after the judge's absence. The daughter is a first-grade student at Sugar Creek Charter School.