A Goleta grandmother whose immigration case once drew national attention has been detained again, according to her family.

Relatives say Juana Flores was taken into custody on Wednesday during what they believed was a scheduled check-in at the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) office in Santa Maria. Flores has been required to check in every few months since returning to the United States under humanitarian parole in 2021.

Her daughter, Elizabeth “Ellie” Gastinell, says the detention was unexpected.

“I didn’t know she had a check-in today and they just decided to take her to Homeland Security, which is where they took her last time,” she said. “We asked if she could do a voluntary leave of removal and they told her no, that they have to take her to the Los Angeles office.”

Flor

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