A heavily pregnant woman from Los Angeles is sharing her harrowing story after being detained by immigration agents over the weekend, despite repeatedly telling them she’s a US citizen. Cary López Alvarado, who is due to give birth any day now, says she was pushed and arrested by agents during an immigration operation in Hawthorne, California, leaving her in the hospital and shaken.
The 28-year-old says she was helping open the gate of a private parking area for her partner and his co-worker when agents in Border Patrol uniforms pulled up in marked vehicles. Her cousin Alberto Sandoval, who is also a US citizen, was with her at the time. They were all at the building for maintenance work. The agents were targeting the two undocumented workers in the vehicle, one of whom is López Alvarado’s partner.
López Alvarado said she believed the officers would need a warrant to enter the property. “They had us all surrounded,” she told NBC Los Angeles, adding she filmed part of the encounter on her phone. In one of the videos, she tells the agents, “I’m gonna need you guys to leave. This is private property.” But things quickly escalated.
She claims she was standing in the doorway trying to block entry when the agents began pushing in. “I wasn’t resisting or anything,” she said. “I can’t fight back; I’m pregnant.” As they tried to force open the gate, she says they told her she was interfering with an arrest. One officer can be heard saying, “You are interfering with my arrest. I’m doing my job… Can you please move away?” To which López Alvarado responds, “I’m not moving away.”
She said that while being arrested, she made it clear to agents that she was due on June 17. Their response? “OK, your baby is going to be born here, but you’re from Mexico, right?” she recalled. “And I told them no. I was born here,” she said. Speaking to Telemundo 52, she explained in Spanish, “I was born in Los Angeles. I was born in Hollywood Hospital.”
Shortly after her arrest, she was released and taken back home. No documents, citations, or paperwork were handed to her, but she was told that someone would follow up later about the obstruction allegations. Hours later, however, she began experiencing severe stomach pains and was rushed to the hospital. Doctors are now closely monitoring both her and her unborn child.
Her cousin Alberto wasn’t as lucky. According to his mother, María Alvarado, he remains in custody facing assault charges. “My son didn’t attack. He was attacked. There are videos. There’s evidence,” she told Telemundo 52.
So far, neither the Department of Homeland Security nor Customs and Border Protection has responded to media requests. Immigration and Customs Enforcement acknowledged NBC News’ inquiry but offered no comment.
The arrests unfolded the same weekend as a wave of immigration raids hit Southern California, leading to dozens of arrests and sparking five straight days of protests across Los Angeles. Videos captured by witnesses show López Alvarado being handcuffed while people around her shout at the officers to “let her go” and remind them “she’s pregnant.”