Paola Clouatre, a Mexican national, was recently released and recently reunited with her family. She suffered heavy health impacts after two months detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Clouatre moved to the U.S. in 2014 at the age of only 14 years old. In addition to being in detention, during a recent arrest, she was arrested while breastfeeding her baby daughter. For Clouatre and her family, the reunion is an important milestone. With them are her husband, Marine Corps veteran Adrian Clouatre, and their three-month-old daughter, Lyn.
Clouatre’s path to this moment has not been an easy one. She was initially separated from her mother as a teenager. In the U.S., she and her husband—a man she met in 2022 and married in February 2024—have begun to establish a new life. The young couple had been looking for an apartment in Louisiana to put down roots. Yet, their plans quickly changed when they found themselves unexpectedly detained.
Long Road to Detention
One major success story On May 27, 2025 Change Maker Paola Clouatre filed a motion to reopen her immigration case. She asked for an emergency stay of deportation from an immigration judge. Her situation became critical after she was picked up by ICE just weeks after she filed the motion.
As she dealt with the possibility of her immigration status being severed, Clouatre shared her anxiety and concerns around being deported to Mexico. “I thought: ‘And if I go to Mexico? Where will I go? With whom? I don’t talk with my family. I didn’t know how I would survive’,” she recounted. The emotional toll was huge as she faced the darkness of anxiety and depression while held in detention.
The next day, ICE moved Clouatre to its rural detention center in Monroe, Louisiana, nearly four hours from her home. She described the experience as overwhelming, stating, “It was very hard. I missed my family, my children, my husband.” This sadness was compounded by the appalling state of her detention. She noticed detainees of all walks of life thrown in together, regardless of their distinct criminal pasts. “They mixed us all together: people with no criminal record with people who did have criminal records,” she said.
A Fight for Freedom
Following her husband Adrian’s persistent efforts and legal representation, Paola Clouatre was granted a motion to reopen her immigration case. Under DHS’s own rules, she was entitled to have been released from ICE custody while her case was pending. On May 27, 2025, Lisette Paola Rosas-Campos (Clouatre) reentered the immigration system by filing a motion to reopen her case. She asked an immigration judge for an emergency stay of deportation. According to a DHS spokesperson, the immigration judge approved the motion. So, she was released from ICE custody while her immigration process is ongoing.
“As Adrian Clouatre put it, after the experience, it was all about creating a normal life for their family again. ‘We’re trying to get our lives back. Looking for an apartment in Louisiana. We’re just trying to have a regular life,” he said.”
Their journey has further opened their eyes to the systemic and structural problems with the way immigration enforcement happens today. Adrian remarked on the need for humanity within the system, stressing that many individuals are not criminals but families seeking stability. I know that the law needs to be enforced, but there needs to be humanity as well. There are people waiting for their residency. They are not criminals. They have children. They shouldn’t be treated like criminals,” he added.
Joyful Reunion
After weeks of separation and many sleepless nights worrying about her safety, Paola Clouatre was back home. The reunion with her children was an emotional moment. She recalled seeing her son’s disbelief upon seeing her: “It was as if he couldn’t believe that the person there was me, his mom.” With joy and relief, she reassured him, saying: “I said to him: ‘It’s Mom. Mom is home again with you’.”
Looking back on the whole ordeal, Paola was thankful to be back with her family but said that it was kind of a dream. “I couldn’t believe I was home again, it was like a shock,” she shared.
Together with their very different narratives, their determination and ambition to imagine a better life comes through. Beyond this, it poses essential questions about America’s immigration policies and practices. Little by little, as they begin to piece their lives back together, Paola Clouatre finds inspiration in her own journey. Her story illustrates the struggles so many families face finding their way through America’s immigration maze.
