Teen dies of cancer days after mother arrested by ICE: ‘She’s never gonna see him’

SALISBURY, Md. (WBOC) - A Maryland man is navigating two devastating blows to his family after U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents arrested his wife just days before their 15-year-old son’s death from cancer.

Right now, there’s not much Rigo Mendoza-Lopez can do but sit on his Salisbury front porch and grieve. He’s left to mourn the death of his 15-year-old son, Kevin Martinez, alone after his wife was arrested by ICE agents.

“This is too much for me. It’s too… very, very bad news because my wife not gonna stay with me, and my son is no more with me either,” he said.

Mendoza-Lopez’s wife, 41-year-old Arlit Maria Martinez, was on her way to work last Saturday morning when she was detained by ICE agents. The mother of four’s family believes she was taken to an ICE facility in Baltimore.

Two days after her arrest, Kevin Martinez died from cancer, just before his 16th birthday. Still in ICE custody, his mother never got the chance to say goodbye.

“She’s never gonna see him no more. We tried to take her out, but they no let her come out to say bye for the last time to my son,” Mendoza-Lopez said.

Arlit Martinez’s family pleaded with federal officers for her release from custody to allow her to mourn her son’s loss and say her final goodbyes. Her husband says those requests went unanswered, despite visits from attorneys and outreach from doctors.

As of Wednesday, Arlit Martinez was still listed as being in ICE custody, according to online records.

Mendoza-Lopez says he and his family are in the middle of packing their things to leave the country to bury Kevin Martinez in his parents’ home country of Mexico. The family had planned to move back there until the 15-year-old was diagnosed with cancer about four months ago.

“We stayed until whenever he got better,” Mendoza-Lopez said. “Now, it’s too late.”

He says he will wait for his wife until the last minute.

Kevin Martinez’s older brother started a GoFundMe to help his family stay afloat while they continue to press for his mother’s release, as well as assist with funeral costs and legal fees.

WBOC obtained Maryland court records for one Arlit Maria Martinez-Carrada regarding a traffic citation in 2015 in which she was charged with driving without a license. No court records were located indicating any other criminal history in the state.

ICE did not respond to an inquiry as to whether they had any other record of charges.