KISSIMMEE, Fla. — A viral video of a mother and daughter taken away from a hospital room in handcuffs is raising new questions about local immigration enforcement.
The Polk County Sheriff’s Office said 19-year-old Giulianna Carriel and her mother, 39-year-old Grace Calero, were arrested after deputies discovered an ICE hold on the women after a car crash.
According to the arrest affidavits, the mother and daughter had been living in Kissimmee at the time, had no prior criminal history, and no gang affiliations.
Video first shared by the family with CNN seemingly shows hospital staff asking in Spanish about Calero and Carriel’s treatment and demanding to see paperwork as Polk County deputies served federal ICE detainers.
The Polk County Sheriff’s Office said the mother and daughter were involved in a two-car crash. The investigation that followed revealed that both Calero and her 19-year-old daughter, Giulianna Carriel, were from Ecuador and had allegedly overstayed their visas.
However, a family GoFundMe disputes the claims, stating “Grace has a pending asylum case and a work permit, and Giulianna has a visa that is valid until 2030.”
Channel 9 reached out to ICE and the family seeking documentation to prove the women’s legal status, but could not verify the claims before news time.
On Tuesday, Sheriff Grady Judd declined Channel 9’s request to interview about the case.
A spokesperson with his office stated he was away most of last week and is catching up on meetings.
But in March, Judd told the State Immigration Enforcement Council that there should be a common-sense approach to immigration.
Judd stated that the federal government should reconsider its immigration policies to permit certain individuals living in the country illegally to stay. “Those are the folks we need in this country that we embrace, because we are a country of immigrants,” Judd said during the meeting.
“Everyone that we’ve taken into custody has been involved in a criminal complaint and or are hanging out with them and were collateral,” Judd added at the time.
According to the Polk County Sheriff’s Office, Judd has not changed his views saying deputies routinely run people involved in their investigations through state and federal databases and serve ICE detainers when requested by federal authorities. “We don’t make that decision, federal immigration agencies do,” said the spokesperson.
That spokesperson added no deputies were being investigated related to the arrest of Carriel and Calero and that neither woman was arrested for a state law criminal investigation.
The Polk County Sheriff’s Office sent the following statement about the case:
“As part of a crash investigation on Thursday, deputies went to the local hospital to speak with the occupants of one of the vehicles. As the deputies were obtaining information from those involved, it was discovered that the driver is in the United States illegally from Ecuador after overstaying an expired visa by several years. Deputies then discovered that the adult daughter of the driver who had also been involved in the crash, was also in the country illegally, also on a multi-year expired visa. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) issued detainers for both women, and after the women were discharged from the hospital, they were taken into custody and transported to the Polk County Jail.”
HCA Florida Poinciana Hospital also provided the statement below:
“Our focus and priority always is taking care of every patient who comes through our emergency room doors regardless of immigration status. Our employees have dedicated their lives to providing compassionate care to every patient. Like all hospitals, we are required to comply with laws and regulations that govern interactions with verified members of law enforcement when they enter our hospital. At all times and no matter what the situation, we do not deviate from our goal of providing the medical care our patients need and deserve.”
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