Tucson community members rallied outside the local ICE field office Monday demanding the release of Karla Toledo, a 31-year-old DACA recipient detained at her home earlier that morning despite having a current work permit and no criminal record.

Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, recipients have protection from deportation and two-year-renewable work permits if said recipients maintain a clean criminal record.

Toledo's husband shared security camera footage on Instagram showing ICE agents attempting to enter their home around 8:40 a.m. Toledo's husband could be seen struggling to open the door as three ICE agents followed him into the home. As he entered the home, he attempted to close the door, but an agent used his body to force entry.

"Please stop, please stop!" Toledo yelled from inside the home.

Toledo repeatedly asked the agents, "Where's the warrant?" referring to a judicial warrant.

An agent responded by stating he doesn't have one, and asked Toledo, "Think you can come out?" as he asked Toledo to walk onto the front porch to speak with him.

The video cuts to a clip of five agents circling the home.

"We're not going to play this game with you," one agent said to Toledo, who continued to ask to see a warrant several times. At no point is she provided with one.

Officers initially said they did not have one, then appeared to suggest she was being unreasonable for insisting on one.

In the next clip, an agent can be seen talking on the phone as four others escort Toledo off the property.

"She says she needs to see a warrant signed by a judge," the agent says into the phone.

Toledo was ultimately taken to the ICE field office.

"She needs to leave from where they have her safe and sound. Her legal status is up-to-date, (she's) never had problems with anyone, much less with the law," Toledo's husband wrote in the caption of the video. "We demand answers and that they respect her rights."

Toledo and her husband announced their engagement last June and were wed in October.

Outside the west entrance to the ICE field office, rally attendees chanted, "Free Karla now!" and "Power to the people, no one is illegal!"

The building was surrounded by Tucson Police officers and taped off from the public.

"(Karla is) a beautiful soul," said one attendee who asked not to be identified. "She's a great singer, (an) amazing influencer. She's also an advocate."

Toledo has been involved with several local organizations including the Sunnyside Foundation, KeepTucsonTogether and La Coalicion de Derechos Humanos, where she led "Know Your Rights" training sessions. With more than 66,000 followers on Instagram, Toledo used her platform to advocate for body positivity.

"Her work permit is not expired. She submitted a renewal for her work permit under DACA at the appropriate time. She has been fingerprinted by the Office of Immigration, and she's now waiting for her new permit," said Lillian Vasquez, an immigration consultant and friend of Toledo's family. "She's always been active, extremely happy, family-oriented, and a girl with values. During the pandemic, she served several non-profit organizations … fundraising for families struggling with rent, utilities. She can't expect any less of us than to be here."

Carolina Silva, executive director of Scholarships A-Z, was also on hand to support Toledo.

"Karla is one of our own," Silva said. "She actually was a past Scholarship Z team member. When we were planning our quinceanera for our organization, she really just … took the lead on outreach, and she is just … such a social butterfly. I just love that she's someone that you can always count on."

Scholarships A-Z, which serves undocumented youth seeking higher education, transitioned from in-person to fully remote services at the start of the year due to a spike in immigration enforcement.

"I want to know why ICE is detaining so many DACA recipients," Silva said. "It feels to me that they are breaking their promise to young undocumented folks that have been here that jumped through all the hoops, checked all the boxes. If we're not safe, then who is safe?"

The Trump administration has taken a different position on what DACA actually guarantees.

"Illegal aliens who claim to be recipients of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) are not automatically protected from deportations," Department of Homeland Security Assistant Press Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement to NPR in July. "DACA does not confer any form of legal status in this country."

U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., asked Homeland Security last year about DACA arrests and deportations. Then-Secretary Kristi Noem responded that between January and November, 261 DACA recipients had been arrested by ICE and 86 had been deported.

Some courts have also pushed back. Two Texas DACA recipients detained and held at facilities in Texas and New Mexico were ordered released by federal judges, both citing the government's failure to provide a clear reason for their detention in violation of due process rights.

The average wait time for DACA renewals has increased from a few weeks to more than two months over the past year, according to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services data, the highest it's been in the last five years. But 80% of cases are completed within four months, according to USCIS' case processing times.

Toledo's detention was one of several involving Tucson community members that week. Alejandra Mendoza, an organizer with Paisanos Unidos, started a GoFundMe for her husband Rogelio, a diabetic and cancer patient detained by ICE on his way to work who is being held at the Eloy Detention Center without adequate medical care.

Maru Carrasco, an organizer with Derechos Humanos, said she received a call on the Rapid Response line last week from the partner of a DACA recipient, who claimed ICE came to the DACA recipient's workplace looking for her, even though her renewal and work authorization were up-to-date since September.

U.S. Rep. Adelita Grijalva was present at the rally and attempted to enter the ICE field office. After waiting for almost half an hour, she was allowed in.

After exiting the building, Grijalva walked directly to Martha Veronica Toledo, Karla Toledo's mother, welcoming her into an embrace.

Grijalva reassured Martha that Toledo was physically unharmed, calm, and had just woken up from a nap.

"She sends you kisses," Grijalva said to Toledo's mother in Spanish.

Grijalva said she was given no information about Toledo's case.

"They can't tell me a lot," Grijalva said. "The supervisor that let me in, let me talk to her through the door, and I asked her if she was okay, and she said she was okay, and she said she knew I would come."

The ICE office can only hold detainees for six to 12 hours before they need to be transported to a detention facility, or in some cases, deportation proceedings.

A representative from the Mexican consulate was also allowed to speak with Toledo, informing her of her rights, including her right to request support from the consulate once she arrives at a detention center. The consulate does not have jurisdiction at ICE field offices.

Shortly after 8 p.m., a caravan of cars and a transport van was seen leaving the field office, with remaining rally attendees shouting Toledo's name as the van drove past, Martha Toledo crying nearby.

Attendees gathered in prayer with Toledo's family, calling for her to receive strength during this time.

Toledo is being transferred to the Central Arizona Florence Correctional Complex.

By Monday evening, local representatives had taken to social media to comment on Toledo's detention.

"Karla has been a positive force in Tucson, especially here on the Southside, dedicating her time and energy to uplifting neighborhoods and supporting students in our community," Councilwoman Selina Barajas said in an Instagram post. "It is important that due process is respected and that families and communities are treated with dignity, humanity, and respect. Our city is stronger because of people like Karla Toledo."

Representatives encouraged community members to call Tucson's Rapid Response line to document ICE activity locally.

"I stand with Karla and her family and join the demand for her immediate release," Mayor Regina Romero said in an Instagram post. "The Trump Administration continues its cruel and inhumane policies through their pattern of not focusing on their immigration enforcement on violent criminals, instead focusing on people and working families who are following the legal process."

Grijalva said in a Tuesday news release that ICE's actions showed disregard for the rule of law and due process, adding that everyone in the country has constitutional rights regardless of immigration status.

"Karla is a DACA recipient with legal status in this country who is a beloved member of our community that serves on local boards and volunteers her time helping others," Grijalva said. "Karla must be released immediately, and ICE must stop terrorizing our communities."

Topacio “Topaz” Servellon is a reporter with Tucson Spotlight. Contact them at topacioserve@gmail.com.

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