It should have been like any other weekday afternoon for Sarah, cooking dinner and waiting for her husband and stepsons to return from work. But they never made it home. When Sarah received a frantic phone call from her husband – his voice shaky and filled with fear – he delivered the news that would change everything: he and her stepsons had been pulled over by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, with the assistance of the Rochester Police Department. Suddenly, she was facing the kind of nightmare her family had long feared but hoped would never come true. The life they worked hard to build together – rooted in sacrifice, hope and safety – was now threatened by a single terrifying encounter.
Now, Sarah and her family are left to pick up the pieces as they grapple with uncertainty, fear and the emotional trauma inflicted by a broken immigration system that continues to target and tear apart families like hers.
As a sanctuary city, Rochester prohibits local police from colluding with federal immigration enforcement. However, body camera footage released by the city of Rochester revealed that local officers violated the city’s laws by initiating contact with the men, directing them to exit the car and helping ICE handcuff them…