Wendell woman arrested by Border Patrol is released after a month in detention
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Border Patrol arrested a Wendell woman in Nov.; community rallied for release.
- Federal judge ordered release, ruling she entered the U.S. as an unaccompanied minor.
- She returned to the Triangle after a month in Georgia detention; attorney condemned it.
A Wendell woman arrested by U.S. Border Patrol agents in a November immigration sweep returned home Tuesday after spending a month in a detention center in Georgia.
“I am so happy because I am here and I am seeing my whole family now,” Fatima Issela Velasquez-Antonio said in a phone interview.
She and her family thanked those who came out in support of her release. A rally in Wendell on Nov. 29 drew roughly 150 people, including U.S. Rep. Deborah Ross, a Raleigh Democrat. Her case drew national attention, including a report on PBS’s News Hour on Friday.
“Words cannot express how grateful we are for your unwavering support, prayers, and love throughout this difficult journey,” her family said in a statement Tuesday.
Velasquez-Antonio, 23, was released Monday night after a federal immigration judge ruled Friday that she should not have been arrested given her status as a minor who entered the United States unaccompanied nine years ago, her attorney said. She was flown to the Triangle on Tuesday.
“It’s a shame that she had to be detained for a month,” said attorney Ashley Lively of Charlotte. “It’s a huge waste of resources and deprivation of her liberty.”
Velasquez-Antonio was arrested by Border Patrol agents on Nov. 18 at a construction site in Cary. She works for an HVAC business, and has a valid work permit, Lively said.
She never should have been arrested, Lively said, because the federal Department of Homeland Security had agreed to a settlement in a 2019 case stipulating that juveniles who sought asylum after arriving unaccompanied could remain in the United States until their cases could be adjudicated.
Velasquez-Antonio came to the U.S. to live with relatives in the Triangle after her father was killed by a gang member in Honduras in 2016, her family said. Her mother died earlier from cancer.
A review of state court records showed no criminal record for Velasquez-Antonio, just two traffic violations.
She is expecting to have her request for asylum heard in the coming days, though it could take a while for a determination, said a family friend, Gene Smith of Wilson, who is in a relationship with Velasquez-Antonio’s aunt. Smith has started a GoFundMe page to help with her expenses.
While Velasquez-Antonio said she was especially happy to be home in time for the holidays, she knew others at the detention center in Lumpkin, Georgia, weren’t so fortunate.
“I am sad because I have friends still there,” she said.
She was among roughly 270 people arrested in the immigration sweep that first targeted Charlotte and then the Triangle, federal officials said. They have yet to release a list of all of those arrested, but CBS News reported fewer than a third had criminal histories.
This story was originally published December 23, 2025 at 5:43 PM.