A Gresham family is being held at the Immigration Processing Centre near San Antonio, Texas, after being arrested and detained by ICE while visiting a hospital in Portland.
According to multiple outlets, including The Oregonian, Yohendry De Jesus Crespo, 40, and his wife Darianny Liseth Gonzalez de Crespo, 34, were arrested on January 16, 2026, by ICE officers outside Adventist Health Portland in Portland, Oregon, while they were seeking medical attention for their 7-year-old daughter, Diana, who was experiencing an active nosebleed.
Just taking their daughter to the emergency room. Never got to go inside.
ICE detains family seeking emergency care for child at Portland hospital https://t.co/CFxmdqeNPR
— Ambassador to Kittenland (@inthisageandtim) January 23, 2026
Ana Linares, a friend of the couple, whose husband spoke to the family following the incident, told The Oregonian that multiple cars surrounded the couple and arrested them. A Department of Homeland Security spokesperson later confirmed that they were detained by Border Patrol agents.
“They handcuffed him, they handcuffed Darianny, and the girl obviously started crying, and they took them away,” the family friend told FOX 12.
Yohendry and Darianny, who came to America from Venezuela in November 2024, seeking asylum, initially moved to Utah and later to Portland following the assassination of American political activist Charlie Kirk at Utah Valley University in September 2025.
According to Ana, the family arrived in Portland in late October, staying with the Linares before moving into their own apartment two months later.
After failing to reach her friends last Friday, Ana went to their house, found it empty, and later located the family through ICE‘s online detainee locator system, which showed they were being held at a detention facility in Texas.
“They are good people, not criminals. They were looking for stability. They wanted to help their families in Venezuela,” Ana said.
Diana’s father also told the Linares that the girl had a fever over the weekend, but the doctor at the detention facility did not see her until Wednesday.
KGW8 reported that Congresswoman Maxine Dexter of Oregon’s 3rd District, who had been in touch with a friend of the family, condemned the arrest.
“They literally were trying to get their 7-year-old, who was having a unrelenting nosebleed, medical attention, and they were surrounded by ICE agents without a warrant and were detained as they were trying to get care for their child,” Dexter said.
She added, “The safe spaces that we should have been protecting all along are absolutely places where people are vulnerable and looking for community or help, and those are places where people are getting picked up.”
“Federal immigration agents arrested and detained a Gresham family, including a 7-year-old child, outside a Portland hospital last week as the girl’s parents sought emergency medical care for her.”https://t.co/dml5XLbkWl
— amna (@IAmAmnaNawaz) January 23, 2026
The congresswoman confirmed that the family has an active asylum case and a 2028 immigration court date, with no criminal record to her knowledge. She also said that her team is trying to help secure their release.
“These people are not the worst of the worst. These are not the criminals that we were told that the immigration enforcement was going to be detaining,” Dexter stated, adding, “I hate to say this — the federal government is perpetuating terror on the community that’s paying for their salaries.”
Addressing the situation, a Department of Homeland Security spokesperson said, “These parents illegally entered the U.S. with their daughter in 2024 through the disastrous CBP One app and were released into the country by the Biden administration.” ICE is yet to comment on the situation.
