Everlee Wihongi, a 37-year-old New Zealand woman who has lived in the United States since age six and holds a green card, has been detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) for nearly six weeks. She was taken into custody at Los Angeles airport on April 10 after returning from a family trip to New Zealand.
Her mother, Betty Wihongi, spoke to the Guardian from her home in Wisconsin, describing the distressing conditions her daughter has faced. During transfers between facilities, detainees must change out of their uniforms into the clothes they wore when arrested. Betty recounted her daughter's observation: "You can tell what people were doing when they were apprehended by ICE. There are nurses in scrubs, road workers, pregnant mothers with children – all shackled." She emphasized that these are not criminals but ordinary people seeking a better life.
After a seven-hour wait at the airport, Everlee called her family to say she was being sent to an ICE processing facility in Adelanto, California, due to a historic conviction for marijuana possession over a decade ago. She had traveled internationally multiple times without issue and was not asked to declare the conviction on her return. Betty expressed the family's terror: "We felt sick, because anytime ICE comes on TV here it is never good news."
At the Adelanto facility, Everlee was housed in a room with 45 people for 22 hours a day. Guards kept lights on at night and made noise outside. Betty alleges that guards told a pregnant woman her baby would be taken away after birth and yelled at detainees who did not speak English. After a month, Everlee was abruptly transferred without notice, missing her first video meeting with her lawyer. She was moved to the Eloy detention center in Arizona, where her original immigration hearing date became void. No new date has been set.
Betty described the helplessness: "If you are not a citizen here, you have zero standing." She noted that detainees without family support or money are at a severe disadvantage. Her daughter's lawyer is seeking to vacate the original conviction, arguing that the previous lawyer failed to inform Everlee that pleading guilty could lead to deportation. The lawyer has since been disbarred for lying and forgery.
The New Zealand consulate has begun offering assistance, but Betty wants the New Zealand government to pressure U.S. authorities. The ministry of foreign affairs stated it is providing consular help but cannot influence U.S. immigration decisions. ICE has not yet commented.
