Benjamin Marcelo Guerrero-Cruz was walking the family dog in Van Nuys on Aug. 8 when he was kidnapped by federal immigration authorities.
Guerrero-Cruz, who turned 18 last month, is a rising senior at Reseda Charter High School and was set to start his final year last Thursday. Instead, he is being held in Department of Homeland Security (DHS) custody as he awaits deportation from the United States.
Community members, activists and educators are questioning the tactics and treatment of the teenager by immigration authorities and are demanding his immediate release.
“He wants to finish high school,” said Lizette Becerra, a Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) educator and former teacher of Guerrero-Cruz.
“It is very difficult for a high school student to come in at that age and graduate. He’s made it this far on his own will and on his dream – and that’s being taken away from him,” she continued. “He is in detention. He should be in a classroom with us.”
A Witness Account
A neighbor, Valerie T, said she witnessed “something no one should ever see at the end of their own block” that fateful day.
She saw three unmarked black SUVs and masked men standing on the sidewalk dressed in street clothing, wearing tactical vests labeled “immigration police.” They were not wearing the typical Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) vests or uniforms, she said.
“Benjamin was already in one of the vehicles when I approached,” said Valerie, adding that she then witnessed one of the men unclip the collar of a small black dog whose leash was tied to a fence.
When Valerie questioned the unidentified masked men, she said they provided her with false and vague information. The agents left with Guerrero-Cruz, leaving the dog still running terrified through the alley, she said.
Valerie and another neighbor were eventually able to connect with Guerrero-Cruz’s mother and start a GoFundMe for the family.
“He’s a beloved older brother to four siblings who miss him terribly. A son, a teammate. His soccer coach describes him as humble. His teammates describe him as reliable – full of heart. He spent two years in the ROTC,” said Valerie. “He had dreams of finishing high school and earning a diploma. Benjamin is an LAUSD kid, a kid from our block, and on Aug. 8, his rights were violated. He was traumatized for life.”
Although Guerrero-Cruz was originally denied counsel, he is now represented by the Immigrant Defenders Law Center, she said.
‘Bounty Hunters’ Terrorize a Teenager
According to DHS, Guerrero-Cruz is an “illegal alien from Chile” who was apprehended because he overstayed his visa.
“Benjamin Guerrero-Cruz, an illegal alien from Chile, overstayed his visa by more than two years, abusing the visa waiver program under which he entered the United States, which required him to depart the United States on March 15, 2023,” the agency said in a statement.
Guerrero-Cruz was taken to the downtown Metropolitan Detention Center, transferred to Santa Ana and returned to the downtown facility. After a week, he was taken to the Adelanto ICE Processing Center, where he is currently in custody.
“It worries me that he’s in a cell with grown men,” said Becerra, who made the two-hour drive to visit the teenager in Adelanto on Sunday. “He’s a few weeks over 18. He’s a kid. He does not belong in that ICE detention center.”
While in detention, Guerrero-Cruz was in a tiny cell with over 25 men, he told Becerra.
“There was no room to sleep. He sat next to a toilet on the floor and had to wake up every time someone had to go to the restroom so that he wouldn’t get excrement on him,” said Becerra. “He hasn’t slept. He has barely eaten. He’s gone from 150 lbs to 130 lbs, the last time we checked. He’s not well.”
During their conversation, Guerrero-Cruz told her that around 7:50 a.m., when he was walking his dog, approximately 15 masked men arrived in three SUVs and grabbed him. He said they called him by someone else’s name and said he was under investigation. They then forced him into a car and told him he had to go with them to get fingerprinted to ensure he wasn’t who they were looking for.
Guerrero-Cruz told Becerra that the men, dressed in plain clothes with vests, then took him to a parking lot on Magnolia Boulevard and Kester Avenue, where they waited for 10-15 minutes before passing him off to what appeared to be “more official” federal agents dressed in the typical ICE and CBP uniforms.
“During that time, he heard them brag about the money that they would be receiving for capturing him, approximately $1,500,” said Becerra.
Guerrero-Cruz overheard the agents saying, “lucky for him, for them, they would be able to have drinks that weekend.”
“Who are these people that took him?” questioned Becerra. “They did not identify themselves. They did not have a warrant. They were not looking for him. … I am concerned that these were bounty hunters and that they sold him so that they could drink their drinks on the weekend.”
DHS responded that it does not use private contractors or “bounty hunters” to make arrests.
A Call for LAUSD to Take Action
“I feared this day. I feared the day was going to come when one of my students was going to be taken,” said Becerra, who was so devastated the day she heard about Guerrero-Cruz that she couldn’t even get out of bed.
“All our students deserve the right, they have the right, to free and fair education regardless of their immigration status,” said Becerra. “To have this level of fear from a new threat that is our own government – it’s heartbreaking, it’s frightening, it’s unjust – and I will do whatever I can to protect and support our students.”
“This is not just his fight – it’s our fight,” added Claudia Rojas, who also taught Guerrero-Cruz when he first came to the U.S. “When one student is taken, all students feel the fear. When we stay silent, we give permission for the next child to disappear.”
On Tuesday, Union Del Barrio and the Association of Raza Educators held a rally outside the LAUSD headquarters in downtown LA to demand Guerrero-Cruz’s release and call for answers from local officials.
Although many teachers feel supported by the district, they fear that because immigration officials are no longer “playing by the rules,” LAUSD might need to change its playbook.
Cecily Myart-Cruz, a middle school teacher serving as the president of United Teachers LA (UTLA), called on the district to do more to protect students from ICE, both inside and outside the classroom.
“[Benjamin] is one of our students. His empty desk is another painful reminder of how cruel the immigration system has become,” said Myart-Cruz. “We asked the district to make those formal demands for any of our students who were kidnapped – that they are returned home and provided amnesty. We call on the district to be a leader in providing legal support for all of those affected by the immigration raids, including joint litigation for families and educators that have been impacted, and provide that legal representation.”
During a press conference last week, when LAUSD returned to school, Superintendent Alberto Carvalho said he was in contact with Guerreo-Cruz’s mother and that the district “immediately sprang into action” upon hearing of the teen’s arrest, including trying to connect the family with legal support.
“I don’t know if any other district in California or beyond that is doing as much as we are for the benefit of our children and families,” said Carvalho. “Despite all the challenges, against all odds, we do follow those families and students and continue to provide legal support, seeking the ultimate release of the individual.”
To donate to the family’s GoFundMe visit: www.gofundme.com/f/help-support-a-family-in-crisis-after-ice-detention