A Canadian mother was detained by ICE and may be separated from her daughter because she neglected to update paperwork after divorcing her American husband.
Michelle Crichlow went to visit family in Toronto with her seven-year-old daughter in July of last year. When she tried to fly back to the US after leaving her child with cousins, she was taken into custody at an airport in Canada.
Crichlow moved to the US in 2017 and began building a life with her former husband in Baltimore. They bought a house and welcomed their daughter into the world.
But according to a GoFundMe the mother set up to pay for legal expenses, the pandemic 'upended' their lives, and their 'marriage ended in divorce' in 2022.
'Amid the heartbreak and chaos, my green card expired,' Crichlow wrote on the fundraising page.
The mother failed to update her immigration status, so when she attempted to return to Baltimore through Toronto's Pearson International Airport, she was 'red-flagged,' Crichlow told CTV News.
She explained to the outlet that because her green card had expired, 'They took my passport, took me to secondary and that’s where I was for 11 hours.'
The mother added that her phone and invalid green card were also seized, and she was eventually told that she was under arrest.
Michelle Crichlow, a Canadian mother, is facing deportation after failing to update her immigration status when she divorced her American husband. She now fears being separated from her seven-year-old daughter, whom she is pictured with
Crichlow flew to Toronto with her daughter in July of last year to visit family, but when she tried to fly back to Baltimore through Pearson International Airport (pictured), she was detained
Crichlow spent the night in a cell before being handcuffed and driven about nine hours south to an ICE detention facility in Northern Virginia.
She told CTV News that during the process, at no point was she allowed to contact her family and let them know what was happening.
She said that agents told her there was a 'new administration, new rules.' At the ICE detention facility, she was given a tinfoil blanket and military rations while she stayed there for several more hours.
Crichlow said that everyone in the detention facility spoke Spanish and that she saw a boy 'who was probably 12 years old.'
She added that her fellow detainees were friendly and told her she would not stay in the facility, but that she 'knew those people weren’t leaving.'
Eventually, the mother was released, but she has been forced to wear an ankle monitor 24/7. She told CTV News that the device gives her cuts and blisters and that she is embarrassed to wear it and fears what her neighbors might think.
'It’s hard to explain when people notice it, especially kids. You know, I don’t want anybody to view me as a bad person, or like I’ve done something wrong or criminal,' Crichlow told the outlet.
The mother said she takes responsibility for forgetting to update her green card, but under the previous administration, she would have faced a $700 fine rather than detention and deportation.
Crichlow said that while in detention, ICE agents told her there was a 'new administration, new rules.' Under the previous administration, she would have just been faced with a $700 fine
Crichlow said that her experience made her change the way she views America. She is pictured posing with a friend in a photo cutout board
On her GoFundMe page, Crichlow wrote: 'Until recently, people in my situation—peaceful, long-term residents with family ties—were rarely detained. But the policies have changed.'
The prospect of being separated from her daughter left the mother in tears while speaking to CTV News.
'My daughter is my entire life. I have fought tooth and nail for my child,' she told the outlet. 'I’m not giving up. I can’t give up. This is my whole life right here.'
On her fundraiser, Crichlow explained that she and her husband have 'joint custody, and because of our legal agreement, I can’t simply take her with me if I’m forced to leave. That would be considered a violation of custody and could cost me my parental rights.'
'If I’m deported, I face the unthinkable: being separated from my little girl,' she wrote in bold on the GoFundMe.
The mother told CTV News that her experience has been 'heartbreaking' and that it has 'challenged my faith and changed the way I view America, unfortunately.'