ICE nabs woman in U.S. for nearly 3 decades in routine traffic stop

A Guatemala-born woman who has lived in the U.S. since age 9 was nearly deported by ICE after a routine traffic stop in Phoenix, despite three decades of residence and three U.S.-citizen children. Knewz.com has learned that a federal judge later blocked her fast-track removal and ordered her case to be shifted into standard deportation proceedings.

Routine traffic stop escalates to ICE detention

According to court documents, Mirta Amarilis Co Tupul, 38, was pulled over by a U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officer while driving to work at a laundromat in a Latino neighborhood in Phoenix. Her lawyers argued that the stop violated her constitutional rights because officers lacked reasonable suspicion. Following the stop, Co Tupul was transferred first to the Florence Processing Center and then to the Eloy Detention Center, which is about 65 miles from Phoenix. Within days, her attorneys were informed that she had been placed in expedited removal proceedings and could be deported in as little as one to three weeks.

District court judge blocks expedited deportation

The detainee’s legal team submitted vaccination records, affidavits and other evidence to prove her nearly 30 years of continuous presence in the U.S. They also argued that expedited removal did not legally apply to her and that bypassing a court hearing violated her due process rights. Earlier this month, a U.S. district court judge granted an emergency request blocking her deportation. The government agreed in writing not to pursue expedited removal again and moved her into standard removal proceedings, where she will have the opportunity to make her case before an immigration judge.

Attorneys celebrate ruling

Eric Lee, one of Co Tupul’s attorneys, wrote on X, “Good news: Our demand that the court halt Trump from deporting Ms. Co Tupul without due process was just GRANTED by U.S. Dist. Ct. for District of Arizona!” However, acting ICE Director Todd Lyons defended enforcement actions more broadly on Fox News, saying, “I don’t think the American public as a whole realizes just exactly who ICE is going after every day.”

Co Tupul’s case raises concerns

The Donald Trump administration expanded expedited removal in January, allowing immigration officials to apply the process nationwide to undocumented people unable to prove two years of continuous residence. Originally, the procedure was designed for recent arrivals encountered near the border. In Co Tupul’s case, her lawyers said that a deportation officer told her that ICE had a “new policy” to apply expedited removal at an immigrant’s first contact with the agency, even if that person had lived in the U.S. for decades. Attorneys said that this interpretation goes far beyond what federal law permits. Co Tupul’s case underscores concerns from civil rights groups that long-term residents risk being deported without hearings when expedited removal is used aggressively. Advocates warn that immigrants without lawyers may be particularly vulnerable. Co Tupul currently remains in custody at the Eloy Detention Center while her case proceeds.

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