Brazilian mother held after Troy traffic stop remains in immigration case

The arrest came after Troy police stopped her while she was driving south on Route 12, where the speed limit drops from 50 mph to 30 mph.

A 51-year-old woman from Brazil is still facing immigration removal proceedings after a May 26 traffic stop in Troy led to her arrest and a five-week stay in the Strafford County jail in Dover. Her attorney says she has now been released on $5,000 bond, but the federal case against her continues.

According to court records, the woman has lived in the U.S. for five years and does not have legal immigration status. She entered the country without inspection in March 2021 after a Border Patrol encounter near San Luis, Ariz., and was later told to appear in immigration court. In March 2023, her case was ended after the government did not advance it, though no immigration status was granted.

The arrest came after Troy police stopped her while she was driving south on Route 12, where the speed limit drops from 50 mph to 30 mph. Police said she crossed the center line. Her attorney, Gabriela Cerretani of the Georges Cote Law firm in Chelsea, Mass., said her client disputes that account and says the alleged phone issue involved her passenger, not her.

After the stop, officers checked with ICE and then took the woman and the passenger to the Strafford County correctional facility. The woman, whose two children are U.S. citizens, was born in Conselheiro Pena, in Minas Gerais, Brazil.

Cerretani said the detention placed a heavy burden on the family, including legal costs, missed work, rent and car payments, and time apart from the children. She said the woman credited her lawyers, her children, friends, prayer and God for her release.

Her case is one of about two-dozen arrests Troy police had made by last month under a 287(g) agreement with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Troy is the only department in Cheshire County with such an arrangement. Many of the stops have involved alleged traffic violations on Route 12.

The woman was held from May 26 to June 30. Her lawyer filed a federal habeas corpus petition the day after she arrived at the jail, arguing that she had no criminal convictions that would require mandatory detention and asking for release or a bond hearing. On July 18, Concord-based Chief Federal District Court Judge Samantha Elliott ordered that she receive a bond hearing as soon as practicable.

The hearing happened on June 30, and the woman was freed on bond that same day.

Cerretani argues that immigration detention is being used too broadly against people without criminal records and says many detainees must rely on federal litigation to gain release. She said judges in New Hampshire have often agreed that people in situations like her client’s deserve bond hearings.

Troy Police Chief David Ellis has defended the department’s role in immigration enforcement, saying stops are made only for legitimate traffic violations. He has also said the department has mostly dealt with people who had immigration problems rather than serious crimes. He said the department could qualify for $100,000 in federal money for new vehicles through its cooperation with ICE, though he had not yet applied.

Ellis has said the arrests have generally gone smoothly. He described one June 23 case in which two people ran, one was caught quickly and the other was located in the woods with help from a police dog. He has also said he understands why some immigrants fear returning to their home countries and that he sees them as human beings going through a legal process.

Local criticism of the ICE partnership continues. Protesters gather in Troy every Friday afternoon, and some residents have questioned whether closer ties with ICE could expand the department’s role. Evan Jack, a longtime Troy resident, has said he worries about the direction of the relationship and what kinds of people might be targeted next.

The woman from Brazil is now pursuing an asylum claim, according to her attorney. Cerretani said she fears going back to Brazil because of crime and violence there. On May 29, the U.S. State Department issued a travel advisory for Brazil warning travelers to use extra caution because of crime and kidnapping.