Shackled, transferred, mocked: woman, 23, says she gave in to deportation after ‘humiliating’ ICE detention

Exclusive: Ana Maria was happy working in the US with an open asylum case. But after ICE detained her for months, she said she requested to go back to her native country

Ana Maria had been happy living in the US. She had an asylum case going through the US immigration system and was working, becoming part of the community, living with her boyfriend and was grateful for safe harbor.

But after she was arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), she had such a horrendous experience that, in desperation, she agreed to be deported back to her native country in South America, back to danger and thousands of miles away from the life she had been building.