Jefersson Bladimir Alemán Beltrán, 19, was taken into ICE custody outside a Santa Maria jail on July 24, after being arrested July 21 on suspicion of inappropriate sexual conduct and having the charges dismissed by a judge for lack of evidence. His mother, Alba Beltrán, says masked agents arrived in several unmarked vehicles and beat her son after he declined to answer questions about his immigration status and asked for a lawyer. Beltrán, who is herself undocumented, says she hid on the floor of her car out of fear while watching the arrest, and alleges the sheriff's office tipped off ICE ahead of her son's release, a possible violation of California's sanctuary law. Jefersson, who entered the U.S. in 2019 at age 14 as an unaccompanied minor, graduated from Santa Maria High School, and works picking strawberries alongside his mother, remains held at the Adelanto ICE Processing Center, where support workers say he has shown bruising, a swollen neck, and back pain; his mother says the accusation against him arose from a dispute over a romantic relationship.