Usually, following the correct immigration procedures and acquiring protection from the state itself would’ve ensured a smooth migration. However, one father from Guatemala was still arrested and detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in Kansas, even though the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services claimed he was safe.
The arrest happened to Jose Madrid-Leiva in Kansas City, Kansas. Madrid-Leiva, father of three, was certain that he did everything right and even complied with the immigration authorities. Jose Madrid-Leiva was even qualified for immigration protection after he filed the paperwork and paid the fees, since he was a victim of an armed robbery in 2022. Madrid-Leiva was then told that he could live and work in Kansas while his U visa application was underway.
Still, that didn’t stop ICE from taking Madrid-Leiva into custody after they saw him in a traffic stop back in April 2025. It’s not clear under which pretense Madrid-Leiva was arrested, but his lawyer, Rekha Sharma-Crawford, and his family are now working hard to free him from detention.
“We are devastated. The kids don’t sleep. They have bags under their eyes, and they’re getting skinnier. His wife, as well,” says Jairo Madrid-Leiva, Jose’s brother, transcript courtesy of KCUR
Turns out Jose Madrid-Leiva didn’t technically have legal status in the country, even though he was allowed inside due to a pending application. According to the man’s lawyer, what happened was a violation of immigration policies, though it doesn’t carry the same weight as committing a crime.
As it is, the wait for the U visa is also too long, and it turns out the government can only issue 10,000 per year. Priority is given to individuals with serious claims, such as Jose Madrid-Leiva, since he was the victim of an armed robbery crime in Kansas back in 2022.
Does Legality Even Matter?
Immediately, Jose Madrid-Leiva’s arrest has raised some concerns since he technically did everything legally and properly. It’s just that the US immigration policies apparently have too many legal gray zones and statuses that don’t seem to do much for the qualified immigrants, seeing as Jose Madrid-Leiva was still detained.
After the ICE arrest, Jose Madrid-Leiva has since spent a month Chase County Detention Center in Kansas while his family worryingly awaits a verdict. At the moment, Jose Madrid-Leiva’s lawyer and family are doing everything they can to win back his freedom. Meanwhile, the case has again ignited some criticisms towards the current administration.
People online are noticing that ICE could simply be picking the easiest ones to detain and not the worst or the actual criminals. Others have called out the apparent racism as the motive behind Jose Madrid-Leiva, just like so many ICE arrests and detainments in the past few months.
“President Trump’s administration is not looking for the worst of the undocumented; they are looking for the easiest to find,” suggests reading_rockhound
“Round them up, put them in a detention centre because it is a money machine, just like the US prison system in many states,” surmises bsksweaver007
“It’s never been about crime, or drugs, or people being here “illegally”. It’s always been about racism and hatred. There was a man who was kind of dark-skinned because he was tanned from the region I grew up in, and he was detained by ice despite the fact that he is white,” says Minibearden
