Original article: Chilenos detenidos por ICE: incomunicados, borrados del sistema y tratados como criminales
In recent months, at least two Chilean families have experienced distress and uncertainty due to the prolonged detention of their relatives in the United States by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). This includes Gonzalo Torres and Isaac Muga, both with clean criminal records, who, despite initiating immigration processes through formal channels or accepting voluntary departure from the country, remain imprisoned in U.S. jails under conditions their families describe as inhumane.
Following a series of transfers, canceled flights, and a lack of official information, both cases reveal a common pattern: communication breakdown, institutional opacity, and a lack of clear responses from both the U.S. immigration system and Chilean authorities. Families allege that these incidents are not isolated, but rather highlight a punitive logic that equates migrants without criminal offenses to common prison populations.
Incommunicado and Erased from the System: The Immigration Maze Keeping Gonzalo Torres Ríos in a U.S. Jail
For over a week, Erika Ríos has been left in the dark about her son. Gonzalo Torres Ríos, a Chilean worker without a criminal record, remains detained by ICE in a Louisiana jail, despite having accepted voluntary departure from the country.
After a lengthy series of transfers, canceled flights, and broken promises, Gonzalo was erased from the immigration system following a last-minute suspension of his deportation, even while at the airport. Since January 29th, there has been no official information regarding his whereabouts or any means to make contact, a situation his family describes as desperate and perilous.
In an interview with El Ciudadano, Erika Ríos explained that her son was detained on January 6th in Minnesota while preparing to return definitively to Chile after five years living the long-awaited «American Dream.» Since that day, his case has turned into a bureaucratic maze marked by communication breakdown, uncertainty, and fear for his physical and psychological well-being.
At 24, Gonzalo decided to immigrate to the United States on a tourist visa, driven by the lack of opportunities he faced in Chile. Once settled, he earned his living working at a Peruvian restaurant and shoveling snow. Although his stay permit had expired, his mother insists that his immigration status does not justify treating him like a criminal.
From Voluntary Departure to Complete Silence
Erika recounted that her son planned to return to Chile at the end of January and was already selling his belongings. On January 6th, Gonzalo went down to his building’s parking lot to photograph the vehicles he intended to sell; it was at that moment ICE agents arrived to detain him.
“We found out roughly half an hour later because he didn’t come back upstairs… we started looking out the window, and on the car hood was a pack of cigarettes and his phone. That’s when I knew he had been taken,” Erika remembers with distress.
According to Ríos, Gonzalo managed a brief call to notify that he had been detained by ICE and was at a specific location. That contact was short and did not provide further details. After that, all communication with him was lost, marking the beginning of uncertainty for the family. They began contacting all relevant agencies in search of help.
Later, the family obtained Gonzalo’s A-Number (the immigration registration number), which allowed them to locate him in Texas. Erika indicated that they could only confirm his location after acquiring that number. This has enabled them to communicate with Gonzalo during this time.
Erika stated that on the same day her son was detained, he signed for his voluntary departure, set for January 15th. However, that return never materialized. Later, on the 20th of that month, the officer in charge informed them that he would be transferred to Louisiana for deportation on January 28th.
The transfer took place, but from that moment, Erika described what she considered a torment: Gonzalo was to travel on the morning of the 29th at 3:30 AM, but the flight was canceled due to technical issues. Later, he was informed of a second flight, and even taken to the airport and positioned next to the plane, but once again he was sent back due to aircraft malfunction. Ultimately, he was told of a third flight later that night; however, at that time, Gonzalo disappeared from the passenger list and was not relocated.
Erika waited for her son’s return at the airport from 9 AM, having coordinated the arrival with Gonzalo’s girlfriend. Despite checking twice with the police, it wasn’t until seven hours later that they informed her he was not on that flight. From that moment on, Erika lost all contact with Gonzalo since, following his scheduled deportation, he was erased from the communication system.
According to information provided to Ríos, there was indeed a flight that day meant to return about 40 Chileans, yet only between 18 and 20 of them ever made it home. To this day, Erika has had no contact with Gonzalo, nor has she received any explanation as to why he was removed from the list of deported Chileans.
Inhumane Conditions and an Endless Wait for Answers
On another note, Ríos also warned about the conditions at the facility where her son is currently held. She stated that, unlike the immigration detention centers in Texas for individuals in the deportation process, Gonzalo was transferred to a correctional facility, where he is mixed with the general inmate population.
Additionally, she recounted that during the few conversations she had with him before the failed flight, Gonzalo appeared hopeful about leaving that place, which he describes as uninhabitable: with inadequate sanitary conditions, feces in various spaces, constant water and communication interruptions, people sleeping on the floor, and an environment that, he asserts, exposes him to risks from the other inmates.
“He’s struggling, that’s the issue. It’s frustrating that he had his flight, that he was on a list, and then wasn’t able to board the plane. And that’s what we’re fighting for now, for him to be put on a flight; if he was already on a list, don’t you understand?” declared Torres’ mother.
For Erika, the uncertainty surrounding Gonzalo’s conditions has been agonizing. Furthermore, they were informed that these types of flights operate only at the end of the month, meaning she must wait until the end of February to confirm if her son will be on the next transfer.
“I pray to God and try to stay positive that he will indeed return on that flight. But if not, my son is going to fall apart. Psychologically, he must be going through a terrible time. And having to endure one more month, another month, two, three months… is impossible. It’s terrifying. If I feel this way here, where I have water, food, and a bed, and I am struggling, just imagine how he is. He was just a step away from being back here in Chile, just a step…,” Erika recounted.
Ríos also added that from the very first moment, they offered to pay for her son’s return ticket. However, they have not been granted that option, nor have they received any responses from either Chilean or U.S. authorities.
Additionally, Erika recognized that her son’s detention has had an economic impact on her family in Chile. She noted that she has lived alone with her daughter for the past four years and that Gonzalo was an important support, as he had plans to return with a secure job and continue financially helping his mother and sister. Nevertheless, she asserted that today that concern has taken a back seat to the urgency of bringing her son home.
Emotionally, she described an even more excruciating scenario. Erika explained that leading up to January 29th, they maintained regular communication, and as a mother, she tried to boost his spirits and calm him, downplaying the situation to keep him strong. The interruption of communications has left her unaware of how Gonzalo is doing, which incites fear and desperation, especially given the possibility that he could miss another flight without explanation. “It terrifies me,” she states, emphasizing her greatest concern is not knowing when or how her son will be able to return to Chile.
Isaac Muga: A Case That Confirms This Is Not an Isolated Incident
Gonzalo’s case is not an isolated incident. A similar situation faces Isaac Muga, a Chilean citizen detained since October in the United States due to a migration issue, with no criminal charges against him. Since his detention, his family has reported a series of transfers between various detention centers and a sustained lack of information, highlighting a pattern of treatment that recurs among several Chileans held by the U.S. immigration system.
In an interview with El Ciudadano, Estrella Muga, Isaac’s sister, explained that he had been in the U.S. since 2024 on a six-month visa (which she does not recall the name of but confirms is not the visa waiver). She noted that before that visa expired, Isaac began the processes to request asylum, all through legal and correct channels.
It was during this waiting process that Isaac was detained by ICE. Estrella reported that since his detention, her brother has been moved among four different jails, from Miami to Arizona, back to California, and then back to Arizona again.
One of the most serious incidents recounted by Isaac’s sister involved his transfer from a facility known as Alcatraz to Arizona without prior notice, leaving him completely incommunicado, a practice that—she noted—repeats itself during transfers, which typically occur in the early morning hours without notifying families or the detainees themselves.
During that transfer, the plane carrying Isaac and other detainees of various nationalities suffered a depressurization and descended sharply over a thousand feet, causing fainting and injuries among passengers, including ruptured eardrums and nasal bleeding.
Despite the severity of the incident, the family claims that he has not received adequate medical attention: Isaac continues to endure severe ear pain, potential perforations, and recurring infections, which are treated only with painkillers, raising concerns among his family about possible complications and reinforcing the urgency of his return to Chile for specialized care.
Isaac, who has now been detained for four months, nearly boarded the same plane as Gonzalo. However, he experienced the same fate: when he was already at the airplane, he was excluded from the list and prevented from boarding. Like Gonzalo’s family, Isaac’s relatives lost all communication with him since January 29th.
Estrella’s concern stems from the evident decline in her brother’s mental health, perceptible through his calls. Initially, Isaac faced detention with relative composure, but as days went by, that attitude transformed into exhaustion, fear, and uncertainty. Estrella’s alarm grew after their last communications, where he desperately warned her that he could “not hold on much longer.”
“They Should Not Be There”: Families Unite Against Extreme Risks
Like Gonzalo’s mother, Isaac’s sister warned that her brother is currently held in a correctional facility in Richwood, known as Siena, where—according to her—conditions are particularly grave. Unlike the immigration detention centers where he previously stayed, this facility houses common inmates, and since his arrival, he and others detained have been subjected to threats, thefts, and assaults. “I won’t withstand more than five weeks in this jail,” Isaac reportedly said, as he for the first time shares confinement with other Chileans following his transfer.
For this reason, after learning that her brother was imprisoned alongside other Chileans, they made contact with Gonzalo’s family, who has been detained since January. Estrella explained that the goal was to provide guidance based on the experiences gained over more than four months of constant efforts, to avoid encountering the same obstacles and facing lengthy periods without answers. Furthermore, she indicated that this connection aims to strengthen requests for support and raise awareness of a situation affecting more than one Chilean family.
“We have been unable to resume communication, and we are worried because in the jail where they are detained, they have received many threats and danger to their safety. In the case of these guys, they are not individuals who are accustomed to being among this kind of people; they are honest working young men who are not criminals. So they are in a place they do not belong,” she stated.
“Invisible Chileans”: Without Responses, Pressure, or Exit
The families of Gonzalo and Isaac reported having contacted the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, consulates, and the Ministry of Foreign Relations without obtaining concrete actions. They explained that these entities merely fulfill an informational role, providing lists of flights or individuals transferred, without the capacity for intervention in ICE’s decisions.
Erika expressed that they have never received explanations as to why her son was removed from the exit lists despite signing for voluntary departure. She asserted that there is no authority to turn to find out why she cannot communicate with him or when he can return to Chile, deepening the family’s anguish.
In the face of institutional silence, the families have turned to social media and the press as their only means to bring their cases to light. They claimed to have exhausted options through consulates, NGOs, and lawyers, always receiving the same response: that they can only wait, even in the face of the physical and emotional deterioration of the detainees.
Both families warned that being a minority without active diplomatic pressure leaves detained Chileans in a state of abandonment. A condition they describe as “invisible Chileans” within the U.S. immigration system, lacking urgency or guarantees for their return.
The prolonged detention has generated a profound emotional impact on the families, particularly on the mothers of Gonzalo and Isaac. Estrella, Isaac’s sister, recounted that her mother is in a state of permanent distress, affected by uncertainty, a lack of information, and constant fear for her son’s safety.
The psychological toll has intensified over the months and the lack of communication. Families describe fear, desperation, and a sense of abandonment in the face of institutional silence, alongside the fear that this absence of answers could have irreparable consequences for those remaining in custody.
Both families point to a structural problem within the U.S. immigration system, marked by stricter policies, ICE’s opacity, and the use of private prisons under a punitive logic. They denounce that people without criminal offenses are treated as criminals, subjected to arbitrary transfers, communication breakdowns, and conditions that violate their dignity and physical and emotional integrity.
The families demand the minimum: effective communication and the immediate deportation of their relatives to Chile. In addition, they are calling on the Chilean government to intervene actively and to raise awareness regarding the situation of all Chileans detained in the United States. “We are not asking for privileges,” they state, “we are asking for humanity.”
