Agents from the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detained an Ecuadorian mother and her teenage daughter this Friday while they were receiving medical attention at a hospital in Florida, where they had arrived minutes earlier after surviving a traffic accident, according to the Ecuadorian media outlet Teleamazonas.
Grace Calero, 39 years old, and her daughter Giulianna Carriel, 19, were traveling on a highway in Florida when another vehicle lost control, veered into their lane, and collided with them, causing their car to overturn. Both were rushed to HCA Florida Poinciana Hospital, where Grace was diagnosed with cervical injuries and given a neck brace, while Giulianna experienced a nervous breakdown due to the emotional impact of the accident.
It was in that emergency room where immigration agents burst in and proceeded to arrest them. Grace's sister, Gia Calero, confirmed that both were receiving medical attention when they were detained.
The arrest occurs within the framework of the immigration policy of the Trump administration, which at the end of January 2025 revoked the federal guideline on "sensitive locations," a rule that had prevented ICE from making arrests in hospitals, churches, and schools for decades. Since then, public areas of medical centers—lobbies, hallways, and waiting rooms—can be accessed by immigration agents without a court order.
Florida has become one of the states with the highest intensity of operations: between January 2025 and March 2026, nearly 39,000 arrests were recorded in the state, according to data from the AP agency cited by the broadcaster WLRN. Nationwide, ICE set a record in June 2026 with over 39,500 detentions in a single month, at a rate close to 2,000 arrests per day.
The operations have progressively expanded to new scenarios. In recent weeks, ICE intensified its arrests in airports across the country, raising alarm within migrant communities. A survey published this month revealed a growing public debate over whether the agency is using excessive force in its operations, in a context where the use of force in detention centers increased by 37% during 2025.
The case of Grace Calero and Giulianna Carriel adds to a series of detentions of Ecuadorian citizens by ICE that have garnered media attention in 2026, including that of Chantal Morales, who was released after her arrest. The Ecuadorian community in the United States is among the most affected by the intensification of immigration operations in the past year and a half.
The arrest of a mother with cervical injuries and her daughter in a state of nervous crisis, inside a hospital and in front of the medical staff, has sparked outrage both in Ecuador and among organizations advocating for the rights of migrants.
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