After visiting Ignacio Carrizalez for the first time since his detainment, his wife, Amanda, got a call on her way back from Moshannon Valley Processing Center saying he was being released on Thursday, July 2, and turned around to go pick him up. No reason was given for his release. Submitted Photo

Butler’s Ignacio Carrizalez was reunited with his wife and young daughter Thursday evening, July 2, months after he was detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement without a warrant.

Carrizalez, a native of Mexico who was actively working to become a citizen, was taken into ICE custody during an April traffic stop and spent over two months at Moshannon Valley Processing Center in Clearfield County while his wife, Amanda Smail-Carrizalez, pleaded for help freeing him.

“My daughter keeps pinching me. I keep asking if this is a dream and I don’t want to wake up. We’re beside ourselves,” Amanda said. “He can finally breathe.

“He said when he was in there, it was like he could only get half breaths, like he couldn’t get a whole breath in.”

Carrizalez was released to his wife, Amanda, and his 6-year-old daughter, Dani, a few weeks after they both publicly spoke at a Butler County commissioners’ meeting asking for somebody to help them.

“I’m excited and happy. I’m still so confused. There’s a lot of emotions,” Ignacio said.

Amanda and Dani were able to visit Ignacio Thursday for the first time since his detainment. They were told later in the day he would be released, without any reason given.

“We went to visit him today. It’s a two-hour drive. We were halfway home and we got a call from him,” Amanda said. “He said, ‘babe, you might want to stop and turn around.’ I asked why, and he said, ‘I don’t know why. I think they’re releasing me. Somebody’s going to call you in a couple minutes.’”

The release comes days after an incident where Ignacio was reportedly given the impression he was being transferred to another facility in Louisiana before being flown to Mexico. He was then held back and not told why.

A reason was not given for why Ignacio was released from Moshannon, the family said.

“Nobody told me anything. I’ve been asking what’s going on since Sunday. I asked why they didn’t put me on the plane. I’ve been sending requests to ICE. One every day since Sunday. The people from the facility don’t have any answer. They don’t have that information,” Ignacio said.

“Nobody told me why or what the reason was.”

Ignacio’s deportation date has been moved to September 2026, Amanda claims. The family is not sure if they’ll settle and move out of the country or if they will continue to fight the deportation order.

Ignacio and Amanda have gone through the immigration process since 2011 and lived in Butler since 2015. He was detained by masked ICE agents on April 28. On June 18, an immigration judge ordered Ignacio to either self-deport or be deported. His name has not appeared on ICE’s database or Pennsylvania’s UJS portal, which would have indicated if he was facing any criminal charges.

“To be all together again, my daughter wants to stick by my side. She keeps telling me every five minutes she needs me. She loves me. It feels good,” Ignacio said.