A mother was dragged out of her car by ICE officers in front of her 18-year-old daughter for allegedly having links to organized crime group MS-13, seemingly without a warrant.

On March 31, Elsy Berrios, 51, was driving to work with her daughter in the passenger seat and was stopped by officers with Immigration and Customs Enforcement. 

Her daughter, Karen Cruz Berrios, felt uneasy about the interaction and recorded the ICE officers speaking with her mother. 

Elsy could be heard asking the officers in Spanish why she was being arrested and to provide her with a warrant. 

After officers said they didn’t need a warrant, she continued to ask to see an order and refused to step out of her vehicle. 

The officers then broke the window and removed her from her car. Elsy seemed to remain calm and assured her daughter that she was OK. 

After officers shattered the car window, Karen could be heard crying and telling ICE, ‘You guys cannot take her.’ 

Elsy stepped out of her car and an ICE officer grabbed her arm and turned her around to handcuff her. 

An undocumented mother named Elsy Berrios, 51, was detained by ICE officers while driving to work with her daughter Elsy continued to ask ICE officers to see a warrant and instead of presenting her with one, they shattered her car window

A mother was dragged out of her car by ICE officers in front of her 18-year-old daughter for allegedly having links to organized crime group MS-13 

Elsy is a mother in Maryland and has been in the US since 2017. ICE claimed that she had MS-13 ties after her arrest on March 31

Elsy is a mother in Maryland and has been in the US since 2017. ICE claimed that she had MS-13 ties after her arrest on March 31 

Karen shouted at the officers to stop grabbing her mother as she cried, ‘Mommy, no!’ 

She told local ABC affiliate WMAR News that the incident was shocking and she felt emotional watching her mother’s ICE arrest. 

Karen said that she offered to give her identification card to the officers, but they refused and said they needed to see her mother’s ID.

‘My mother keeps asking him, “Sir, where’s the warrant?” And he was like, “It’s in the car,” and my mother was like, “Can you please bring it out the car so I can see it, and then I’ll step out,” and he said, “No,”‘ she recalled. 

Karen told CBS News that there was ‘no need’ for them to break her mother’s car window and handcuff her when they didn’t have a warrant. 

‘You wouldn’t think that you and your mom are going to work and suddenly they are taking your mom for no reason,’ she added. 

ICE issued a statement claiming that Elsy was a ‘known affiliate of the violent transnational street gang, MS-13.’ 

She immigrated to the US in 2017 and was arrested by the US Border Patrol in Rio Grande Valley, Texas on January 26. 

Elsy told her daughter Karen that she was okay as her daughter screamed for the officers to release her on the shocking video footage

Elsy told her daughter Karen that she was okay as her daughter screamed for the officers to release her on the shocking video footage 

Elsy was then processed at a patrol station and was released from custody on February 16 under the ICE Alternatives to Detention Program. 

The program allows undocumented migrants to stay in their communities and move through the immigration process without being detained. 

Participants are required to complete various check-ins with a case manager and are still supervised by ICE. 

ICE and DHS did not specify what changed in Elsy’s immigration status since she started participating in the program eight years ago. 

Elsy’s lawyer, Anna Tijerina, said that there was no evidence to suggest Elsy had links to MS-13 and affirmed that her office hasn’t yet seen an arrest warrant. 

‘She’s entitled to see an arrest warrant before she complies with the officer’s order of stepping down, and she wasn’t resisting the arrest,’ Tijerina told WMAR. 

‘I am confident she would’ve stepped out of the car had she seen a warrant.’

Elsy was sent to an ICE detention center in Pennsylvania and is awaiting an immigration hearing on Monday

Elsy was sent to an ICE detention center in Pennsylvania and is awaiting an immigration hearing on Monday 

Karen added that her mother doesn’t have any gang affiliation and fled to the US to escape gang activity. 

Elsy was granted the ability to work in the US while her asylum case was pending. 

Her daughter told the Baltimore Banner that Elsy is a ‘great mom’ and works hard to provide for her and her three older siblings. 

Tijerina said that Elsy has worked at the same place for over six years and lives with her children in Maryland who are legal, permanent residents.  

Karen has kept in contact with her mom while she’s in custody and said that she’s been praying with the other women there. 

Elsy was placed in an ICE detention center in Pennsylvania and has a court hearing scheduled for Monday. No official charges have yet been filed against her. 

DailyMail.com reached out to ICE and DHS for more information on the case but didn’t immediately hear back.  

***
Read more at DailyMail.co.uk