Tearful Moment Father Reunites With Family After Months in ICE Detention
A Maryland father who spent more than two months in ICE detention after what he says was a wrong turn near a federal facility is finally home with his family.Bonifacio Ruiz Rosales was apprehended by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on April 29 near a National Security Agency facility. While his family say he was simply driving to work, the Department of Homeland Security said he was trying to enter a secure federal site without permission.Ruiz Rosales was released from custody on June 28 after being detained at the Karnes County Immigration Processing Center in Texas. Newsweek has obtained exclusive footage of the tearful moment he reunited with his family."I don't have the words to express myself, honestly; it's such a huge emotion because I missed my family so much, Ruiz Rosales told Newsweek. "I was away from them for a long time." Federal agents move in to reopen the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) office in Portland, Ore., on June 28, 2018. Alex Milan Tracy/Sipa via AP Images "My family gave me a huge surprise that I wasn't expecting. It was wonderful, joyful, and exciting."The case comes amid a crackdown on immigration by President Donald Trump's administration. Trump has vowed to remove millions of immigrants without legal status as part of a hard-line mass deportation policy. The White House has said that anyone living in the country illegally is a "criminal."Newsweek previously reported on Ruiz Rosales' son being close to dropping out of school before teachers rallied around him to provide support and raise money for legal fees. Without the work of his son's teachers, who helped him navigate a complex legal and emotional situation, it is unlikely Ruiz Rosales would have been released.In a letter obtained by Newsweek, Maryland Senator Chris Van Hollen thanked teachers on Montgomery Blair High School's immigration support committee."I am grateful for your life-changing work to help bring Mr. Bonifacio Ruiz Rosales home. I hope you take a moment to reflect on the tremendous impact that you have on those around you, especially on the families whose lives you have touched," Van Hollen wrote.Ruiz Rosales was detained by ICE between 10 a.m. and noon on April 29 near a military base located between Laurel and Baltimore. Ruiz Rosales, a mechanic by trade, was on his way to work when he was apprehended, the family said."On April 29, 2025, a vehicle approached an NSA facility with two occupants. The driver did not have the proper credentials to enter the secure facility and was directed by NSA Police to the rejection area for further checks, per standard operating procedures," an NSA spokesperson told Newsweek."This illegal alien was not on his way to a job—he was attempting to enter a National Security Agency building," Department for Homeland Security (DHS) Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin previously told Newsweek."I was treated like a criminal for getting off the wrong exit," Ruiz Rosales said. "I apologized to the guards for my mistake. I handed over my license and registration."I answered their questions. I was in shorts, a T-shirt, and sandals that day. What they say doesn't make sense. God bless the people who are saying these things against us."He was initially held at a detention facility in Baltimore before being transferred on May 6 to the Karnes County Immigration Processing Center in Texas. Ruiz Rosales shared harrowing allegations about how he was treated."It was torture being chained up," he said."There are security guards who discriminate just because we are immigrants," he added. "One day, I had a toothache, and they gave me an appointment for a month later."Responding to these allegations, McLaughlin told Newsweek: "Newsweek's race baiting is disgusting. These types of smears are designed to demonize and villainize our brave ICE law enforcement. This kind of garbage has led to a nearly 700 percent increase in the assaults on ICE law enforcement."Any claim that there are subprime conditions at ICE detention centers are false. In fact, ICE has higher detention standards than most US prisons that hold actual US citizens. All detainees are provided with proper meals, medical treatment—including dental care, and have opportunities to communicate with lawyers and their family members.""The facts of this case have not changed: Bonifacio Ruiz Rosales is in the country illegally. The Trump administration is committed to restoring the rule of law and common sense to our immigration system, and will continue to fight for the arrest, detention, and removal of aliens who have no right to be in this country," McLaughlin said.Newsweek has previously revealed allegations of abuse at ICE-run detention centers, including cases of medical neglect and mistreatment of migrants."It's sad and painful what you go through in those prisons just for being an immigrant. It hurts to be an immigrant because they look down on us, Ruiz Rosales said.In a direct message to Trump, Ruiz Rosales pleaded with the president to show mercy to nonviolent immigrants who are chasing the American dream."Why are you coming after us? We're not doing anyone any harm. We want to live in peace. We are not murderers. Our only problem is we're immigrants," he said."As a father, put yourself in our place. You're destroying families. Children are being abandoned while the real murderers are still loose. Why are you coming after us?"Update 4/7/25, 8:54 a.m. ET: This article was updated with comment from Tricia McLaughlin.