Wife of illegal immigrant in ICE detention says his ‘pride’ kept him from becoming citizen

By: Nicole Silverio

Sakiah Navas, the wife of an illegal immigrant currently being detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), said on Tuesday evening that her husband’s “pride” kept him from becoming a citizen after spending two decades in the U.S.

Navas’ husband, Jose, illegally entered the U.S. from El Salvador in 2003 and has been in ICE detention in West Texas since Sunday, according to KPRC. She told a reporter for the outlet that her husband likely did not seek citizenship for over two decades because of his “pride” and to prevent others from thinking he only married his wife to become a citizen.

“I pushed for [his citizenship] years ago when [her daughter] was born almost 7 years ago. And he’s like, ‘but I don’t want it to look like that’s why I’m married to you,’ and maybe even a part of it is pride, too, was what stood in the way,” Navas said. “But never because he didn’t want it to look like he’s using this country for that.”

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Jose Navas was turned over to ICE for not having a driver’s license and transferred to a detention center in Eden, Texas, according to KPRC. Sakiah said that the detention center is “completely packed” and accused ICE agents of just “shoving” illegal immigrants in these locations.

Since the beginning of his term, President Donald Trump’s crackdown on illegal immigration has led to the arrests of over 95,000 illegal immigrants as of June 27, according to The New York Times. As of June 20, over 56,000 were in detention across the U.S., which is a 40% increase from June 2024 and is currently the highest detention population in U.S. history, according to Human Rights Watch.

Seventy percent of illegal immigrants arrested by ICE agents have criminal convictions or pending charges, according to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Several of these individuals have committed heinous acts, such as murder, sexual assault, and drug trafficking.

Border crossings plunged to the lowest level ever recorded in June due to the administration’s hawkish border policies. Border crossings exceeded a record-high of 2 million throughout former President Joe Biden’s administration, according to Customs and Border Protection (CBP).

Several Democrats have waged war against ICE by threatening not to comply with agents and by attempting to ban law enforcement from wearing masks during their operations. Michigan House Democrats introduced legislation on Tuesday to criminalize concealing the identities of ICE agents and other officers while on duty.

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