A wave of anger has swept through Suffolk County Community College after Sara Lizeth Lopez Garcia, a 3.9 GPA honors Latina student was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents just one semester from graduation and transported to a detention facility in Louisiana.
Lopez Garcia, 22, was taken from her home in Mastic, New York, alongside her mother and younger brother, despite reportedly being in the process of obtaining legal permanent residency.
According to her fiancé, Santiago Ruiz Castilla, ICE agents admitted they were looking for someone else entirely.
“She followed the process, had one semester left, and just landed her first job,” Ruiz Castilla told reporters. “Now we have nothing.”
The case has triggered an emotional backlash among classmates, faculty members, and immigrant rights advocates. Students at Suffolk say her absence has left a “gaping void” on campus.
“She was a leader, a mentor, and deeply loved,” said English Professor Cynthia Eaton. “This isn’t right—this is a nation of immigrants, and we’re witnessing injustice.”
Sara was on track to graduate with honors and planned to marry Ruiz Castilla this August. Her sudden detention not only upended her academic and professional plans but also devastated a close-knit circle of supporters who describe her as a hardworking, compassionate student who inspired others through mentorship and volunteerism.
Adding to the frustration is the fact that Sara has no criminal record, and her family’s detainment reportedly stemmed from a mistaken identity.
“ICE wasn’t even looking for them,” Ruiz Castilla wrote in a GoFundMe campaign he launched to raise money for legal and basic needs. “They were searching for someone completely unrelated who didn’t live at their address.”
The campaign, titled “Help Bring a Student and Her Family Home,” has raised over $26,000 of a $35,000 goal as of Monday, July 21, and is rapidly gaining traction on social media.
The funds will go toward legal representation for Sara and her family, who are now awaiting immigration proceedings from hundreds of miles away.
Critics say the case highlights the flaws in ICE enforcement protocols and the emotional toll exacted on families caught in the crosshairs of U.S. immigration policy.
“We hear about immigration raids, but when it happens to someone like Sara—a student, a future nurse, someone you know—it becomes heartbreakingly real,” said one classmate who asked not to be named.
Sara’s supporters are calling on lawmakers and immigration authorities to intervene and release her while her legal residency application is pending. As one GoFundMe donor wrote:
“This is not just a legal issue—it’s a moral one.”
The story of Sara Lizeth Lopez Garcia is now being shared widely across platforms like Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok with the hope that public pressure will prompt ICE to reconsider her detention.
📌 To support Sara and her family, visit:
https://www.gofundme.com/f/support-needed-for-legal-and-basic-needs
