Nursing Lake Elmo mother released from jail as immigration case proceeds

A nursing mother was released from federal immigration custody on bond Wednesday, allowing her to return to her young children as her immigration proceedings continue.

Antonia Aguilar Maldonado, 25, of Lake Elmo had been held in Kandiyohi County jail since her July 17 arrest by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents in St. Paul. The federal government placed her on the track to deportation, citing her failure to appear in court in 2019 for a hearing in her asylum case.

Smiling through tears, Maldonado walked out of the Whipple Federal Building Wednesday evening and into the embrace of friends and her two children. One child clung tightly to her neck while the other rested against her chest. Speaking in Spanish translated by her attorney, Gloria Contreras Edin, Maldonado thanked her church for raising the $10,000 bond that made her release possible, saying she was relieved to be home with her family again.

Immigration Judge Kalin Ivany set a $10,000 bond during a hearing July 31 at the Fort Snelling Immigration Court, a decision appealed by the Department of Homeland Security.

From the bench on Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Susan Richard Nelson ordered Maldonado’s release on bond pending the conclusion in her immigration proceedings. The ruling was met with a round of applause in the courtroom after court was adjourned.

Maldonado’s attorney previously said they were able to raise the $10,000 with help from the community.

Maldonado sought asylum after coming to the U.S. from El Salvador as an unaccompanied minor nearly a decade ago. She has no criminal record.

“The key today is the irreparable harm Ms. Aguilar Maldonado will continue to face if she continues to be detained,” said her attorney, Hannah Brown, giving the example of the infection mastitis.

Maldonado’s three-week detention is the latest example of a change in the immigration system under President Donald Trump’s ongoing push to deport people living in the country illegally.

In July, the Trump administration issued a policy change making undocumented immigrants ineligible for bond even if they have a pending asylum case. A class-action lawsuit challenging the policy was filed July 28 in California.

Maldonado entered the U.S. in 2016 after being abandoned by her parents in El Salvador, said Contreras Edin. After asking for asylum, she was placed with a relative.

Maldonado left her relatives when the living situation fizzled, and she lost track of her asylum case. She was ordered removed in March 2019 after failing to appear in court. In June 2024, she revived her request for asylum.