Detained in immigration raids, Maggie remains confident in Trump’s massive deportation plan

If Arpineh Masihi can vote, she will vote for Donald Trump. She is a devout supporter of the U.S. president – even now she is locked into an illegal immigrant.

Arpineh in Adelanto in the Mojave Desert in California.

“I will support him until the day I die. He makes America great again.”

In her home in the wealthy suburban city of Diamond Bar in East East Los Angeles, sixty miles (96 km) of Trump flag flew over the home’s front yard. Maga Hats adorns a shelf next to the family’s album, while the family’s pet birds chirp in the cage.

It was a lively home with three dogs and four children, while Alpine’s husband and mother were melancholy and exhausted, trying to put on a brave face.

“Our home is broken,” said Arthur Sahakyan, Alpine’s husband.

In many ways, Arpineh, 39, is a success story for the United States, a classic example of how the country offers people a second or even third chance. Arpineh’s mother shed tears when she talked about her daughter who had lived in the United States since she was three years old.

Many years ago, she was sentenced to two years in jail in 2008. An immigration judge revoked her green card, which is a common practice. But since she is a Christian Armenian Iranian, the judge allowed her to stay in the country instead of being deported.

“We are Christians. She can’t go back, there’s no way,” said Arthur, who said as their 4-year-old daughter ran in and out of the room. He feared that her life would be in danger if she was sent back.

But since her release from prison, Arpineh has rebuilt her life, started a successful business, and a family of thousands of Iranian immigrants who call Southern California home.

Western Los Angeles (commonly known as Tehrangeles) has the largest population of Iranians outside of Iran.

Some have been detained in recent weeks, like Arpineh, sweeping through the migrant raids that put the city on the edge. While most of the people detained in Los Angeles are from Mexico, the Department of Homeland Security’s daily latest news suggests that it appears that immigrants from around the world have been arrested.

Trump was elected in part because of his promise to “start the biggest deportation program in history” – her husband and mother said they still believe.

However, her family said they believe Arpineh will be released and believe that only hardening, dangerous criminals can be deported.

“I don’t blame Trump, I blame Biden,” Arthur said. “This is what he did for opening the borders, but I believe in the system, all the good people will be released and those bad people will be sent back.”

Although many detainees have no criminal record, Aprineh is a convicted felon, making her a primary target for dismissal.

ICE did not respond to a request for comment regarding the Arpineh case.

Arthur said he didn’t know the details of the burglary. They talked about it briefly before they got married, and then he forgot the fact that he thought his wife was young.

Instead, he focused on his wife’s good deeds over the past 17 years and volunteered to join the local school district and brought food to firefighters and police.

“We all make mistakes,” he said.

So when Ice called Arpineh while the family was having breakfast on June 30, the couple thought it must be a joke.

But 30 minutes later, immigration law enforcement pulled home to their home.

While there are signs everywhere in Los Angeles County that immigrants are urging to “know your rights” and not to open the door to immigration law enforcement officers, the couple came to talk to the officers.

Arpineh explained how the judge allowed her to stay in the United States because of the situation in Iran, as long as she did not commit any other crimes and as long as she regularly checks immigration officials. Her last stay was in April, and she showed them her paperwork.

Arthur even invited them into the house, he said, and they refused.

Immigration law enforcement officers told her that the situation had changed and they had a warrant for arresting her.

They allowed her to return indoors and say goodbye to her children – ages 14, 11, 10 and 4. The officer told her that if she didn’t go back outside, they would eventually get her.

“They told us, whatever we were going to catch you – maybe if you were driving on the street with the kids – so we thought, what we saw on the news: flash bombs, turn cars.” They didn’t want to risk fierce detention and probably watch with the kids.

“She came and kissed the kids goodbye,” he recalled. “She came outside like a champion and said, ‘I’m here’.”

Arthur asked immigration officials not to put their wives on. It was impossible, they said, although they agreed to do it on the other side of the vehicle so that the couple’s children could not see it.

“I know my kids are watching upstairs,” he said. “I don’t want them to see their mom being handcuffed.”

Arpineh was then taken to a federal building in downtown Los Angeles, which ICE used to deal with people arrested in an ongoing attack in the area. The building became the center of violent opposition to protests that sometimes angered Los Angeles for weeks.

Those who were locked in the building were “deemed as animals.”

Arpineh told the BBC that she was detained for three days along with 28 other women. They survived every day on snacks and a bottle of water, and the women huddled together to warm up and slept on the floor.

Since Arpineh speaks three languages – Armenian, Spanish and English – she is able to communicate with many other women and say they help each other.

Three days later, she was moved to Adelanto, a private ice detention center in the desert in northeast Los Angeles, known for her harsh prison condition.

But Arpineh said it was much better than what they faced in downtown Los Angeles, now having three meals a day, with showers and a bed. Although she heard it would be difficult to get medical treatment if treatment is needed, Arpineh was young and healthy.

“But it’s still very challenging,” she said.

She and her husband said they remain confident in the Trump administration and believe she will be released.

Arpineh told the BBC in the detention center.

But this has not stopped immigration officials in the past. In February, a group of Iranian Christians who had just crossed the border from Mexico were deported – but to Panama instead of Iran.

Arpineh is still hopeful, but she points out that she is also frustrated.

She said she loved America and felt American even if she lacked paperwork.

She called her husband to collect it once an hour so they could share the latest information about her legal case, although so far there is nothing to share. He said the older children knew what was going on, but their 4-year-old daughter kept asking mom when to go home.

These four children are all U.S. citizens born and raised in California. The couple believes that officials will take this into account when deciding Alpine’s fate.

“I have four civic kids. I own a business. I own a property. I own a car,” Alpine said. “I have done nothing wrong over the years.”