Woman Arrested By Border Patrol In Viral Video Reunited With Daughters
STUDIO CITY (CBSLA) — The woman whose videotaped arrest by San Diego border patrol agents went viral earlier this month was released on her own recognizance Tuesday and is back with her daughters.
The woman who posted the original video of the arrest posted the emotional reunion Tuesday night outside the Otay Mesa Detention Center.
Earlier in the day, the Associated Press reported that an immigration judge ordered Perla Morales-Luna released, saying the 36-year-old mother is neither a danger to society nor a flight risk.
Video of Morales-Luna's emotional March 8 arrest as her teen daughters looked on spread quickly through social media.
After her arrest, Customs and Border Protection sent out several tweets, claiming Morales-Luna was a "human smuggling facilitator" for a large criminal operation.
Immigration judge Zsa Zsa Depaolo said Tuesday it was not her place to consider the smuggling claims, and she "noted that three other people accused of ties to the trafficking claims were exonerated," according to AP.
In the days following her arrest, an attorney representing Morales-Luna said, "She's never been arrested for anything as far as we can tell, so we're at bit of a loss as to why they're alleging the alien smuggling issue."
Judith Castro-Rangel, the woman who recorded the arrest, posted a video to her Facebook page Tuesday afternoon, which translated reads, "Perla is free! Glory be to God!"
At a small press conference in front of the Otay Mesa Detention Center, where Morales-Luna was being held, her three daughters can be seen speaking to Spanish-language media outlets.
CBS2 is awaiting a response from the San Diego office of Customs and Border Protection.
Morales-Luna is reported to have been in the United States without documentation since she was a teen. Her case is being sent to federal court.
