Residents and councilmembers press Fraser leaders after Customs and Border Patrol detains local teen

Fraser residents, teachers and at least one councilmember urged the city to scrutinize federal involvement after U.S. Customs and Border Patrol detained a teenager and his mother following a Dec. 7 traffic stop.

Councilmember Higgins described the stop and said Fraser officers called CBP to verify a Venezuelan passport; according to Higgins, CBP confirmed the family had entered legally and had pending asylum cases but that a CBP officer insisted on taking the pair into custody. Higgins said officers appeared confused and criticized the CBP officer's on-scene comments: "the Customs Border Patrol officer ... made comments about leftist courts, responding with naked political rhetoric while wearing a federal uniform," he said, calling that conduct "a 5 alarm fire." Higgins told the council he watched video of the stop and suggested the local officers sought assistance only because they could not verify the passport.

Omar, a community advocate, read a letter from the teenager, Santiago, which said the pair were detained after leaving baseball practice and that the mother had documents and pending asylum claims. "Since that night, we have been denied liberty," the translation read, and the letter urged the council to advocate for their release. Santiago's English-as-a-second-language teacher, Kristen Shuttle, said his detention has "had huge consequences" for classmates and described decreased school attendance among immigrant students.

Other public commenters took different views. Resident Dwayne Foster, a U.S. military veteran, said Fraser followed proper procedure when officers sought federal help and cautioned that many enforcement actions are lawful even when they are uncomfortable to watch. Speaker Luxio Onyx urged the city to cut ties with ICE, arguing such actions make Black and brown residents feel unsafe.

City staff did not announce new directives during the meeting. Councilmembers framed the incident as a concern about federal conduct and community consequences; Higgins said he was alarmed and urged awareness about how CBP interacts with local policing. Several speakers called for advocacy on behalf of the detained family and for clearer local policy on interaction with federal immigration authorities.

The council did not take formal action on the matter during the meeting. Several attendees urged further investigation and advocacy on behalf of the detained family.