Wife of Marine Corps veteran released from ICE custody after advocacy from GOP Senator’s office

By JACK BROOK Associated Press A Marine Corps veteran s wife has been circulated from U S Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention following advocacy from Sen John Kennedy a Louisiana Republican who backs President Donald Trump s hardline immigration crackdown Until this week Mexican national Paola Clouatre had been one of tens of thousands of people in ICE custody as the Trump administration continues to press immigration officers to arrest people a day suspected of being in the U S illegally Emails reviewed by The Associated Press show that Kennedy s office reported Friday that it put in a request for the Department of Homeland Safety to release her after a judge halted her deportation order earlier that week By Monday she was out of a remote ICE detention center in north Louisiana and home in Baton Rouge with her veteran husband Adrian Clouatre and their two young children Kennedy s constituent services representative Christy Tate congratulated Adrian Clouatre on his wife s release and thanked him for his military facility I am so happy for you and your family Tate wrote in an email to Adrian Clouatre God is truly great Kennedy s office proved instrumental in engaging with the Department of Homeland Precaution according to Carey Holliday the family s attorney Kennedy s office did not provide further comment Another Louisiana Republican House Majority Leader Steve Scalise also intervened not long ago with the Department of Homeland Precaution to secure the release of an Iranian mother from ICE detention following widespread outcry The woman has lived for decades in New Orleans Kennedy has generally been a staunch supporter of Trump s immigration policies Illegal immigration is illegal duh Kennedy posted on his Facebook page on July amid a series of fresh media appearances decrying efforts to prevent ICE officers from making arrests In April however he criticized the Trump administration for mistakenly deporting a Maryland man Related Articles Sean Diddy 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notified Kennedy s office Tate announced she sent the request to release Paola Clouatre to DHS and shared a copy of the judge s motion with the agency emails show In an email several days later Tate declared that ICE communicated her it continues to make custody determinations on a case-by-case basis based on the specific circumstances of each scenario and had received the judge s decision from Kennedy s office for consideration The next working day Paola Clouatre was circulated from custody We will continue to keep you your family and others that are experiencing the same issues in our prayers Tate mentioned in an email to Adrian Clouatre If you need our assistance in the future please contact us Back with her children Paola Clouatre had been detained by ICE officers on May during an appointment related to her green card application She had entered the country as a minor with her mother from Mexico more than a decade ago and was legally processed while seeking asylum she her husband and her attorney say But Clouatre s mother later failed to show up for a court date leading a judge to issue a deportation order against Paola Clouatre in though by then she had become estranged from her mother and was homeless The Department of Homeland Defense did not promptly respond to a request for comment on Clouatre s release Adrian Clouatre mentioned he wished the agency would authentically look at the circumstances before detaining people like his wife It shouldn t just be like a blanket Oh they re illegal throw them in ICE detention Reunited with her breastfeeding infant daughter and able to snuggle with her toddler son Paola Clouatre informed AP she feels like a mother again I was feeling bad she reported of detention I was feeling like I failed my kids It will likely be a multiyear court process before Paola Clouatre s immigration court proceedings are formally closed but things look promising and she should be able to obtain her green card eventually her attorney reported For now she s wearing an ankle monitor but still able to pick up life where she left off her husband says The day of her arrest in New Orleans the couple had planned to sample specific of the city s famed French pastries known as beignets and her husband says they ll certainly get that chance again We re going to make that day up Brook is a corps member for The Associated Press Account for America Statehouse News Initiative Document for America is a nonprofit national facility activity that places journalists in local newsrooms to statement on undercovered issues