A father detained during a large law enforcement raid last month has been reunited with his family after his daughter fought for his release.
Juana Rodriguez was there when her father was taken into ICE custody during the raid, leaving her zip-tied and unable to care for her 3-year-old son. After a month of separation, the daughter and father were reunited Wednesday night in an emotional moment Rodriguez says she will never forget.
"I was able to get the news that my dad was being released. I'm proud of myself because I said I was gonna fight for him until I was able to have him back into my arms," Rodriguez said.
WATCH | Juana Rodriguez and her father share an emotional reunion —
Rodriguez's father said he felt pressured by an officer to sign paperwork for self-deportation but refused, trusting that his daughter would fight for his release.
"She said, 'How are you going to regret it if you're already ready to sign to go to Mexico?' And I told her no. My daughter said she was going to fight — and thanks to God, she did," he said.
The father described difficult conditions inside the detention facility, including long hours without food and overcrowded rooms.
"Very bad. When we first got there, we went 24 hours without eating. They put you in a room with about 30 people where we slept sitting up like this," he said.
He hopes others in custody don't feel pressured to sign paperwork they might not completely understand, warning that once signed, there's no undoing it.
"I was just about to sign, and I didn't sign," he said.
Rodriguez said she's now focused on simply having her father home and making up for the time they lost.
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