GREAT NECK, NY — Claudia Orellana hadn’t been allowed to see her husband, Tomas Orellana, for almost 10 days. Tomas is a Great Neck resident who was detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents on Jan. 5.
They are a Great Neck family of 10– 8 sons ranging from 6 to 31 years old. Claudia said their 18-year-old son received the call from Tomas on Jan. 5 in the afternoon. He told their son, “Please tell Mom to call an immigration lawyer.” She said that, in that moment, she knew what happened; she was in complete shock.
The Great Neck Orellana family. / Claudia Orellana
She explained that Tomas was at a scheduled parole hearing appointment in Mineola when he was detained by ICE. His attorney, Byron Quintanilla, said Tomas came to the U.S. legally from El Salvador more than 20 years ago and was in the country with Temporary Protected Status (TPS). His renewal was denied in 2024 due to a DUI.
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Quintanilla said Tomas was on probation for a DUI that occurred in 2023, and he was a few months away from finishing probation. According to Quintanilla, an officer followed Tomas for about 20 minutes, and it wasn’t until he was parked in his driveway that he received the DUI, he said.
Claudia and Tomas’ 18-year-old is supposed to go back to college next week, but he doesn’t want to leave his mom to support the family alone, Claudia said.
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“We still have young ones,” she said. “Our 6-year-old keeps asking, ‘Where’s Daddy?’ ‘When is he coming home?’ and saying ‘I miss.’ He doesn’t comprehend what’s going on. It’s heartbreaking. How can you explain to a 6-year-old what’s going on?”
She said she’s concerned about how she’s going to care for their family alone– Tomas was the breadwinner.
Claudia is using her voice to fight for her husband’s return. / Photo Courtesy Claudia Orellana.
“He was paying the bills,” she said. “He was doing everything he could, working hard. He’s been paying taxes his whole life. He has a landscaping business. He does jobs on the side– painting, moving, shoveling snow, anything his neighbors would need. He does whatever he has to do. He knocks on doors and looks for jobs to make money. It’s hard nowadays. They’re treating him like a criminal. He’s a hard-working man for his family. The future is on hold, but bills still need to be paid. We still have to pay rent.”
Reflecting on the road ahead, she said it’s uncertain. Claudia and their sons are all American citizens, and they look up to their father. Tomas wants to be in their life to continue raising them, she said.
“It’s a big question mark,” she said. “We don’t know when he will be released, if he gets released, or if he will be sent back. He can be sent back to his country, and his kids will never see him again. Now, we might not have a future. “
She said their 15-year-old had an emotional call with Tomas.
“He broke down,” she said. “Tomas told him to stay in school and listen to mom, and that he’ll be home soon. ICE is breaking up families. Breaking futures.”
Representative for the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Tomas and Claudia saw each other for the first time in days. / Photo Courtesy Claudia Orellana
Tuesday was their first in-person visit, and first time Claudia saw her husband, and their three eldest sons saw their father, in more than a week. They traveled to the Delaney Hall Detention Facility in Newark, New Jersey, and Tomas came out in dark blue sweats. She recounted the experience, stating it was like jail. She brought their oldest sons and she said, “It was devastating when he came out.”
On some days, she explained, they are only given 30 minutes to talk, and when they arrived, they had to wait for some time, cutting 10 minutes out of their time: “They don’t care if they made us lose the 10 minutes.”
Their reunion was full of emotions, and she said they cried when they first saw each other.
“I was able to talk and hug him,” Claudia said. “He told our 18-year-old, ‘Don’t worry about Mommy. God has her hand. Promise me you will go back to college.’ We’re holding onto hope.”
For the time being, Claudia said she is using her voice to raise awareness.
“They are grabbing people who are landscapers, who are working,” she said. “It’s so unfair. A lot of people are scared to speak up, especially immigrants. We have the right to speak out. I will speak up for the people who don’t have a voice. Some people aren’t speaking up, but I’m not one of those. I will fight for my husband. For my sons. I will fight for all immigrants. If you need a voice, I’m here. We have to keep our community together. We have to pray and work together.”
Quintanilla said they received more than 20 letters of support that were filed in his petition, along with 1,000 verified signatures from their community.
Tomas has a bond hearing on January 22, where they hope to get Tomas released back home, but Quintanilla said even if that hearing goes well, there is a long road ahead.
“Even once he’s released, the mission doesn’t end there,” Quintanilla said. “It’s preparing and strategizing for the next step, which is the actual immigration case, which is whether or not he’s actually going to be deported from the United States.”
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