- Everlee Wihongi was detained by immigration officers at Los Angeles airport on April 10.
- Her family is seeking answers as to why Everlee Wihongi was detained.
- A hearing is set for April 28; the family has set up a GoFundMe to help pay for her legal expenses.
SALT LAKE CITY — A Utah family's weeklong vacation in New Zealand ended with a family member in detention at an Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in California.
The Wihongi family legally immigrated from New Zealand to the United States years ago. After flying to New Zealand to celebrate an uncle's 80th birthday, Everlee Wihongi was detained by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency at the Los Angeles airport on April 10.
According to Courtney and Avaiiki Wihongi, they still don't know why she was detained by ICE.
"Still to this day about a week later, no, we still don't know," Avaiiki Wihongi said. "I just got off the phone with her, and she doesn't know either. She's very confused."
Immigration attorney Jonathan Shaw said that cases like Everlee Wihongi's are becoming more and more common across the country as ICE continues to crack down on immigration.
"With immigration, there is such a backlog that often times things like this start to seem normal," Shaw said.
The backlog can mean that individuals are detained for days or even weeks without understanding why they are being detained. Everlee Wihongi told her family she still doesn't know why she was detained.
According to Avaiiki Wihongi, Everlee Wihongi was kept in a room for more than seven hours and pressured to sign paperwork that she wasn't allowed to fully read.
"She tried to read it again, he ripped it out of her hands and said, 'Are you going to be difficult?'" Avaiiki alleged.
Courtney Wihongi said they won't give up until they get some answers, "especially without having any sort of a reason of why this happened."
Everlee Wihongi's family set up a GoFundMe* to pay for her legal expenses as they wait for her to be released. A hearing for her is scheduled for April 28.
*KSL.com does not assure that the money deposited to the account will be applied for the benefit of the persons named as beneficiaries. If you are considering a deposit to the account, you should consult your own advisers and otherwise proceed at your own risk.
