Two three-year-old twins in Milford, Massachusetts, are now in therapy after witnessing masked immigration agents detain their father, Nexan Aroldo Asencio, despite his ongoing process to become a legal U.S. citizen.
The family is speaking out, alleging a wrongful detainment and inhumane conditions.
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WATCH HEREThe shocking incident, captured in part by a cellphone video, shows the moment masked immigration agents took Aroldo Asencio from his home on May 30. Christina Maria Toledo, Nexan's wife and the mother of their twin boys, shared the traumatic aftermath with NBC10 Boston.
"The first few days I would close my eyes and the only thing I would wake up to is him screaming outside for me," Toledo said.
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Aroldo Asencio spent several nights in U.S. Customs and Immigration Enforcement custody on a bathroom floor. His wife detailed the dire conditions he faced.
"He was like, 'I stink like piss, I stink like poop.'" She said, "They didn't shower, and they don't give you food and if you ask for more water, they don't give you anything. They ignore you."
Aroldo Asencio crossed paths with 18-year-old Marcelo Gomes da Silva, also from Milford, who was released by ICE last week. Aroldo Asencio sent Toledo a voice memo, where da Silva stated, "Your husband was treated just like everyone there with no respect — they treated all of us inhumanely."
Similar to Gomes da Silva's case, Toledo asserts that immigration officials were looking for someone else when they apprehended her husband.
"I'm like that's Nexan Aroldo Asencio," she told the agents. "And he's like, 'Well, we're looking for Victor.' I was like that's my brother-in-law. He's not here."
Another cellphone recording from the scene shows an agent saying, "Let us check it out, if he's good to go, we'll let him go."
Initially, agents promised to release Aroldo Asencio if Toledo presented his approved I-130 petition, a crucial step toward obtaining legal residency. However, this proof was dismissed.
"That didn't work," Toledo said. "He said that could be a false paper."
Toledo states that Aroldo Asencio has lived in the U.S. since he was young, has no criminal record, and recently started a business.
"We do everything right, taxes everything," Toledo said. "We have a family, you know he's not a criminal, so I don't get why they treat him like one."
Now, the mother of two is burdened with mounting legal fees as she cares for their twin boys, who will turn 4 in a matter of days. The thought of their father missing their birthday weighs heavily on the family.
"He's like, 'I'm going to miss my son's birthday,'" Toledo said. "So, we're not going to do no cake or anything. We're just going to wait for dad to come home."
Aroldo Asencio is currently being held at a detention center in Vermont and is due in court this Thursday.
NBC10 Boston reached out to ICE for comment on the case. We received the following statement:
"All aliens in violation of U.S. immigration law may be subject to arrest, detention and, if found removable by final order, removal from the United States, regardless of nationality.”
