Three months in ICE detention can stretch a family’s hope to a flicker. For the relatives of Montreal’s Paula Callejas, that flicker now dances in the shadow of mounting legal bills, deteriorating mental health, and a border that feels more like a wall than a line on a map.
The story begins with ambition. Callejas, 45, left Canada with dreams of growing her swimsuit business in the United States. Instead, an altercation with her boyfriend and a resulting misdemeanour arrest in Florida sent her on an unexpected journey through the U.S. immigration labyrinth. While renewing her work visa, she was swept from jail into the hands of ICE, shuffled through four detention centres, and left her family fighting for her release from across the border.
Each transfer between facilities added confusion and anguish. Callejas’s mother, watching from Mississauga, counted the costs—both financial and emotional. The family’s legal battle has drained up to $25,000, with every call home underscoring her daughter’s declining well-being. “She’s not a criminal,” insisted her mother, her voice tight with fatigue and worry. As days stretch into weeks, anxiety gives way to a deeper fear: that Callejas may not survive the ordeal.
This case is not isolated. As the U.S. government pursues record numbers of immigration arrests, Canadians like Callejas find themselves ensnared in a system designed for exclusion. Consular officials confirm that multiple Canadians are currently detained, yet privacy concerns prevent details from surfacing. As a result, families wait in limbo, relying on brief, scripted reassurances from Ottawa while the human stakes remain stubbornly high.
Behind the numbers are lives disrupted, ambitions derailed, and relationships tested beyond endurance. For families confronting a system that prizes procedure over compassion, the price of ICE detention can never be measured in dollars alone. The true cost is felt in every unanswered call, every sleepless night, and every hope that tomorrow might bring a different kind of news.
References:
Family of Canadian woman detained by ICE pleads for her release
