For days after the East Palo Alto housekeeper with an expired visa was moved from Stanford Medical Center into ICE detention in Bakersfield, she could barely speak to her family trying to connect with her through FaceTime phone calls.

Aleyda “Yeny” Rodriguez only mumbled and relatives said they were certain she remained in some kind of shock since she fainted while being arrested by ICE agents Aug. 25 on her way to work. At the Bakersfield Mesa Verde facility, she refused visits from her father and son-in-law.

“She did not trust anyone,” said Issy Tovar, Rodriguez’s cousin. “When they would say they’re calling you, they’re here to visit, she just didn’t believe anybody.”

But now, after a week in the detention center’s medical unit and with the help of a compassionate fellow detainee, he

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