Steny H. Hoyer
11/11/2026 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 11/11/2026 18:00
Hoyer Statement on Detainment of UMD Student by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement
WASHINGTON, DC - Congressman Steny H. Hoyer (MD-05) released the following statement on the detainment of Maria Flores Garcia, a student at the University of Maryland (UMD), and her mother during an immigration check-in in Baltimore, Maryland by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE):
"The detention of Maria Flores Garcia by ICE is an infuriating reminder that Donald Trump cares little about strengthening our communities and country and continues to pursue a draconian immigration agenda that even he himself has said is too tough. Maria is a promising student at the University of Maryland, her high-school's valedictorian, and an aspiring emergency-room doctor who came here at just nine years old as a refugee from a country made terribly unsafe by ever-present gang violence. She should not be deported to a country she barely remembers or doesn't know at all, and young Dreamers like Maria ought to be able to continue making America great in every way they do. I urge the President to direct ICE to release Maria immediately and end its brutal immigration policies that do not reflect either the priorities or character of our nation. I also urge the President to do what he said he would do in his campaign, which is focus on immigrants who have committed serious criminal offenses."
"The detention of Maria Flores Garcia by ICE is an infuriating reminder that Donald Trump cares little about strengthening our communities and country and continues to pursue a draconian immigration agenda that even he himself has said is too tough. Maria is a promising student at the University of Maryland, her high-school's valedictorian, and an aspiring emergency-room doctor who came here at just nine years old as a refugee from a country made terribly unsafe by ever-present gang violence. She should not be deported to a country she barely remembers or doesn't know at all, and young Dreamers like Maria ought to be able to continue making America great in every way they do. I urge the President to direct ICE to release Maria immediately and end its brutal immigration policies that do not reflect either the priorities or character of our nation. I also urge the President to do what he said he would do in his campaign, which is focus on immigrants who have committed serious criminal offenses."
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