RICHMOND, Va. — A Richmond mother said an early morning phone call from her son is how she learned that he would soon be in the custody of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents.
The mother, who said her name is Jessica, said she got a phone call around 5:45 a.m. Wednesday morning from her son Ricardo Martinez-Cantarero, 21, when he was attempting to go to his job as a construction worker and was stopped by ICE agents.
"I asked them, 'What's wrong my child?' And the next thing I heard was that they broke the windows of his car," Jessica said through an interpreter. She said by the time she ran to where his car was, he was gone. "I stood there like crazy, screaming, and I called the police, and I said, 'I don't know where my son is.'"
After reporting her son missing to Richmond Police, officers located ICE agents in the neighborhood who confirmed Cantarero was in their custody.
Richmond Police stated they had no involvement in the operation and that Cantarero had no active warrants with their department.
CBS 6 sent a list of questions to ICE's media relations department about Cantarero's arrest. A spokesperson acknowledged receipt of the request and said they were working on it.
The mother explained that her twin sons came to the United States from Honduras when they were 16 years old and had been in the process of applying for asylum before the pandemic disrupted their case.
"He had said that they didn't get a single piece of paper, a document regarding it, and they didn't call me or to ask me anything," she said through an interpreter.
According to the mother, Cantarero was told he missed a court date in June, but the family never received notification. She emphasized that her son wasn't avoiding the legal system and had even appeared in court to address a traffic violation.
"He did the responsible thing, which was to go get his license, because a lot of people don't go."
Criminal History
The mother said Cantarero had no "major charges", but his twin did and was deported last year. She added that the two have been mistaken for each in the past and police investigated Cantarero, confusing him with his brother.
Online court records show Cantarero had a number of traffic violations, plus four criminal charges in Richmond in 2023 -- including two misdemeanor counts of assault and battery.
While they could be brought back, those two charges were set aside last year when prosecutors say no witnesses showed up for trial.
Henrico records show he was found guilty of falsely identifying himself to law enforcement in 2023 and got six months in prison -- but most of it was suspended.
Community Reaction
Del. Michael Jones (D-Richmond) spoke at a press conference Thursday in the Southwood community.
"No one should live in fear in the United States of America. Nobody should as well. Fundamentally, there is no one that's illegal," he said.
Community organizer Josue Castillo with New Virginia Majority shared how ICE operations are impacting the neighborhood.
"What I've heard from community members who are directly impacted, they don't feel safe to go in public spaces. I've met victims of shootings who feel safe feel unsafe going to court and to testify as a witness because of what they've been seeing," Castillo said.
RPD Chief Rick Edwards said during his mid-year crime briefing that 911 calls from Southwood had dropped 34% due to community fears about ICE.
"That was something while I was on council that we fought hard against, to get people to call, to not be victimized, to not be assaulted, and have it go unanswered. Everyone deserves that, right if you're in this city, if you're in this Commonwealth, and we're here today to talk about that and to address it," added Jones.
But the actions of the federal agency have been pushed by the Trump administration, who secured more funding to increase operations in the recently signed One Big Beautiful Bill. The White House said last week they were making good on their promise to "rid our communities of these threats to public safety".
Meanwhile, Virginia's Republican Governor Glenn Youngkin has also supported ICE actions in the Commonwealth. He said even if people only had traffic violations, an arrest was warranted and pushed back on claims it was making communities less safe.
"If you break the law in America, and you're here illegally, then you should be detained and deported... and by the way, that's common sense," he said earlier this month.
“This is the same misguided argument that we hear from folks that want to support sanctuary cities. That in fact, when there is someone who has broken the law, who is here illegally, when they are in fact, arrested, that it does something to make neighborhoods less safe, and it just doesn't hold water," he added.
Back at Southwood, Cantarero's mother said she does not know what will come next — as he was the main provider for the family, a family that includes his 1-year-old baby brother.
"That's what worries me the most, because he's the one that provides for our family," she said.
The mother said in her call with Cantarero yesterday, he told her that it is God's plan for what comes next and whether he will stay in America or go back to Honduras.
This is a developing story. Email the CBS 6 Newsroom if you have additional information to share.
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