Canadian swimwear entrepreneur hurled in ICE custody after 'being beaten by her boyfriend'
Paula Callejas, a Montreal-based businesswoman, has been in the custody of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) since early April and is currently in a facility in Arizona.
She was detained after a domestic altercation with her boyfriend and now her family fears she may not make it out alive.
Callejas has been reportedly shuffled between multiple detention centers and stripped of her anxiety medication, relatives told CTV News.
'This is really horrible for her,' her mother, Maria Estella Cano, told the outlet. 'They punish people for nothing.'
Callejas had traveled to the US frequently for years while expanding her business and investing in Florida real estate.
She was reportedly in the process of applying for a visa before the nightmare ordeal.
Her family says the 30-something entrepreneur was assaulted during a fight with her then-boyfriend.
He allegedly slapped her and knocked her to the ground before taking her phone.
Callejas reportedly scratched him while trying to retrieve it to call the police, but he called first, which ultimately led to her being arrested for a misdemeanor assault.
She hasn't seen freedom ever since that call.
Callejas is now detained with up to six other women who are reportedly crammed into a single cell, according to her family.
They say she's suffering without her prescription medication and is terrified of dying behind bars.
'She's scared,' Cano told CTV News. 'She says, "Mummy, I'm asking. I'm asking them, please let me go, please let me go." Why are they keeping her there?'
Her relatives have spent thousands in legal fees in an effort to bring her home.
But so far, every motion for release has been denied or delayed.
The family says a woman died at one of the facilities where Callejas was previously held in Jacksonville, Florida and fear she could meet the same fate.
'We are ready to send the ticket for her now,' Cano said. 'She wants to come home to Canada.'
In June, a Canadian immigrant died in the custody of ICE while awaiting removal from the US.
Johnny Noviello, 49, died while in custody in Miami, Florida. His cause of death is under investigation.
Noviello was undergoing removal proceedings when he was found unresponsive.
Medical staff attempted to resuscitate him but he was pronounced dead shortly after.
According to ICE, Noviello entered the US in 1988 and formally became a lawful permanent resident in 1991.
But in 2023, he was convicted of racketeering and drug trafficking - which revoked his legal migrant status. He was meant to leave the country but didn't, so was arrested in May as part of an ICE round-up.
ICE said he was convicted for trafficking Oxycodone, as well the unlawful use of a two-way communication device to facilitate commission of crime.
He was sentenced to 12 months in prison in October of 2023. Volusia County corrections data shows he was released in February of last year.
ICE arrested Noviello at a Florida probation office last month and issued a notice to appear and charged with removability.
Ice has detained at least 50 Canadians since Donald Trump's crackdown on immigration.
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