A woman was forced to drive herself to a California hospital for a scheduled cesarean section Aug. 15 after immigration agents detained her husband, claiming he had an arrest warrant for homicide in Mexico, CBS2 Los Angeles reports.
Maria del Carmen Venegas told the television station she and her husband, Joel Arrona-Lara, were en route to the hospital when they stopped at a gas station in San Bernardino, Calif. She said several U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials approached their vehicle and asked for their identification.
Ms. Venegas said she provided officials with identification, but Mr. Arrona-Lara did not have his ID with him. Officials reportedly told Mr. Arrona-Lara to exit the couple's vehicle and proceeded to search the car and arrest him.
Ms. Venegas told CBS2 Los Angeles her husband has never been stopped by police and has never been in trouble with the law. However, Ms. Venegas confirmed Mr. Arrona-Lara has been living in the U.S. illegally for 12 years, according to TIME.
ICE officials told TIME Aug. 15 Mr. Arrona-Lara has an outstanding homicide arrest warrant in Mexico and has been taken into custody.
"Mr. Arrona-Lara, a citizen of Mexico illegally residing in the United States, was taken into custody Wednesday by ICE Fugitive Operations Team officers in San Bernardino, Calif," the statement reads, "Mr. Arrona-Lara is currently in ICE custody pending removal proceedings with the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR)."