‘It has to be the right way’: Baton Rouge mother discusses next steps after ICE release

BATON ROUGE, La. (Louisiana First) — A Baton Rouge family is together again after its matriarch was released from an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility this month. Her immigration attorney said the ultimate goal is citizenship.

“A green card for her, and then in three years she can naturalize after she gets her green card—become a citizen,” said Carey Holliday, the family’s immigration attorney.

Holliday was formerly an immigration judge, and he said the bureaucratic immigration system “has cracks.” He said his son is the Clouatres’ neighbors, and he agreed to take on their case. Since that time, he said he’s lost sleep and spent countless hours trying to right what he calls a clear-cut wrong.

“She fell through the cracks,” Holliday said.

Holliday reflected on Paola Clouatre being released on recognizance, and he said it was because she did not pose a threat to flee or not appear.

“That individual is thought to be responsible enough that they’re going to follow the system,” Holliday said.

Despite that, Paola was assigned an ankle monitor. She has to wear it at all times.

“I still don’t understand the ankle bracelet,” Holliday said. “It must’ve made somebody happy along the line.”

Paola said the monitor is a constant reminder she’s not completely free yet. It’s a weight she feels on her leg and in her heart.

“It’s not that heavy, but it hurts,” Paola said. “It’s kind of annoying.”

Holliday said he is advising the family to apply for parole in place since Adrian Clouatre is a military veteran. A blurb from the USCIS website details what parole in place entails.

“We may grant parole in place on a case-by-case basis for urgent humanitarian reasons or significant public benefit under section 212(d)(5)(A) of the INA. You may be eligible for parole in place in 1-year increments if you are 1 of the following service members, or are the spouse, widow(er), parent, son, or daughter of 1 of the following service members:

• Active-duty member of the U.S. armed forces;
• Individual in the Selected Reserve of the Ready Reserve; or
• Individual who (whether still living or deceased) previously served on active duty or in the Selected Reserve of the Ready Reserve and was not dishonorably discharged.”

Holliday said people who come across the border without being admitted, as Paola did when she was brought by her mother as a teenager, often must return to their home country to alter their visa status. Parole in place would allow her to work on her case here.

“You don’t have to go back to Mexico to adjust,” Holliday said.

Paola was released the morning of July 28. The mother of two had been detained for two months at the Richwood facility in Monroe before a judge ordered her case to be reexamined and issued a stay of deportation.

Paola had come with her mother to the United States from Mexico when she was a teen, but she never knew her estranged mother had missed an immigration hearing that would lead to her daughter being issued a deportation order in 2018.

“We don’t talk,” Paola said. “She doesn’t know her grandkids.”

Paola was initially arrested by ICE at the New Orleans headquarters, where the couple went to clear up a deportation order discovered online. Adrian said agents arrested his wife after they were told to sit in the lobby following what appeared to be successful interview sessions.

Being released is a relief, Paola said.

“I’m very happy to be back home with my kids, my babies,” Paola said.

Despite that happiness, the two months in detention continue to have an impact.

“I’ve been feeling depressed,” Paola said. “Sometimes I talk, sometimes I don’t. That’s what I used to do there.”

She continues to think about the women she grew close to in detention, specifically one she knew through the entirety of that period, who noticeably deteriorated by the end. She said the woman lost her hair and shed weight at an unhealthy rate.

“I every day tell my husband, ‘I can’t stop thinking about her,'” Paola said. “Like my husband said, there’s nothing we can do.”

ICE did not respond to a request for comment following Paola’s release. She said she will go through the process to apply for a green card with the ultimate goal of citizenship and an education to become a travel nurse. She now must trust the same government that arrested and detained her.

“I don’t know, I’m scared,” Paola said.

She said she will continue to focus on that future and avoid anything that takes her away again.

“It has to be the right way,” Paola said. “We have to do it.”

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