Reseda High School student freed after months in San Bernardino County’s Adelanto Detention Facility

Benjamin Marcelo Guerrero-Cruz, a student from Reseda High School, who had been detained since August, was released to his family Thursday morning. Announcement of the update was made by the U.S. Representative Luz Rivas.

On August 8, Valerie, one of Guerrero-Cruz’s neighbors, witnessed his arrest that morning while he was walking his dog in Van Nuys, when suddenly Guerrero-Cruz was taken by masked ICE agents. 

She, who like Guerrero-Cruz was also walking her dog, saw several men wearing tactical vests holding Guerrero-Cruz’s dog’s leash and later, after she approached, one of the men unclipped the dog’s leash and let it run off. 

She saw the SUV where the student was placed inside drive off and approached the remaining vehicles. She asked the men who they were and who they had taken. According to Valerie, the men only vaguely pointed to an apartment building, refusing to give her an apartment number or address. “I knew I had to act. I created a note with my contact information and taped it to the apartment building, hoping someone would call,” she said. “A few hours later, Benjamin’s mom called me.”

According to the GoFundMe page made at the time of his detention, his family was asking for support for legal fees, as he was the oldest of four siblings and helped his mother take care of his six-year-old brother and five-month-old twins. In the account he was described as “a devoted son, a caring brother, a loyal friend and a valued member” of the community, “with a kind heart, who has always stepped up for his family.”

The 18-year-old was held in San Bernardino County’s Adelanto Detention Facility and at one point and then transferred to a facility in Arizona without his family’s knowledge, according to the L.A Times.

The student came from Chile, escaping crime and unsafe areas. When CALO News reached out to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) they responded saying that Guerrero-Cruz overstayed his visa, which expired on March 15, 2023, “abusing the Visa Waiver Program under which he entered the United States.”

Since his detention, the Community Self-Defense Coalition, Union del Barrio, Association of Raza Educators and other community-based organizations have held several press conferences and rallies demanding the release of the student Guerrero-Cruz.

Last month, Guerrero-Cruz’s former teacher had visited him in Adelanto to check on his condition at the facility. Guadalupe Carrasco Cardona, a member of several organizations organizing the rally during that month, had stated that day had marked an important moment for the former student, who was scheduled to appear in court. During the hearing, his legal representatives from the Immigrant Defenders Law Center were expected to petition for his release.

Other actions taken during that rally were also by the United Teachers Los Angeles members who were demanding that the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) implement a better policy and protocol to protect students from ICE raids. 

Today Guerrero-Cruz is finally released to his family. 

You may ask why his story matters? 

Between June and October, heavily Latino-populated areas in the San Fernando Valley, South Central Los Angeles, as well as Southeast Los Angeles, which include Norwalk, Bellflower, Downey and South Gate, were among the regions with the most immigration enforcement activity, according to a study by an immigration nonprofit organization.