Salvadoran mother arrested at airport, detained despite valid work permit and notification error
Oct 29, 2025 · Salt Lake City, UT, El Salvador

Marta Brizeyda Renderos Leiva, a 39-year-old Salvadoran immigrant and mother of four U.S.-born children, was forcefully arrested by ICE agents in plain clothes at Salt Lake City International Airport on October 29, 2025, while traveling with her sister to visit family in Maryland. Renderos fled El Salvador in 2007 due to domestic violence and political strife, held a valid work permit issued in 2024 through 2029, and had applied for asylum. She was arrested based on a deportation order issued in absentia in February 2020, which she claims she never received due to a notary error listing an incorrect address. Video footage captured agents holding her on each side as she struggled and screamed for help in the airport's pre-security area. Her attorney argues the deportation order should be canceled because she was never properly notified as required by federal law. Two of her children have serious health issues that would be affected by her deportation. Her sister and community members, including teachers and neighbors, describe her as responsible and dedicated to her family. The incident prompted Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall and the City Council to express concern about the operation's lack of transparency, the agents' plain clothes without visible identification, and the choice of a public airport lobby as the location.
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