An immigration court has terminated the deportation proceedings against Martha Gutierrez, a Chicago mother of three who has been a lawful permanent resident of the United States since 1990, after more than nine months in immigration detention — but as of Wednesday, November 11, she had still not been released, according to ABC7 Chicago (WLS) and reporting on her family's campaign published on November 11.
The decision came late on Tuesday, November 10, after what her family called her final hearing before an immigration judge in Tennessee. The court rejected the federal government's grounds for deportation and ordered the proceedings terminated, the family's supporters reported. Immigration officials had not freed her by Wednesday, and the government was still considering whether to appeal, according to that reporting. ABC7's report contained no statement from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) or the Department of Homeland Security.
Gutierrez was born in Mexico and has lived in Chicago since 1990 as a legal permanent resident — 36 years in the United States. In February 2026 she travelled to Mexico for a family visit. According to her relatives, she has been detained in the United States ever since her return; supporters say she was taken into custody at Chicago's Midway Airport. Relatives told ABC7 she had travelled to Mexico several times over the past few decades without incident.
The government's case rested, her family says, on two retail theft charges in Illinois from 1997 — two minor shoplifting cases from nearly three decades ago, long before her youngest daughter was born, which the family says had already been resolved. Her family contends she is not a criminal and should never have faced deportation over them. Those old, minor cases became the basis for removal proceedings when she returned from abroad — a reminder that for green-card holders, an old record can resurface at the airport even after decades of lawful life in the United States.
A family's nine months without their mother
Gutierrez's three daughters — Irma Serrano, Mariaelena Serrano and Nathalie Vargas — have spent more than nine months appealing to federal officials to let their mother come home. Nathalie, the youngest, recently turned 10 without her mother there. Ahead of Tuesday's hearing, Irma Serrano made a direct plea to the judge: "I ask the judge to please free her. Please let her return home with us." Mariaelena Serrano described a home marked by loneliness and sadness, saying their mother had always been the one who kept the family going and taught them to be independent.
On Monday evening, November 9, relatives and supporters gathered for a prayer vigil in Chicago's Pilsen neighbourhood. Pastor Julie Contreras of United Giving Hope, who has championed the case, described the circumstances of the 1997 thefts at the vigil and said she is filing a clemency request with Illinois Governor JB Pritzker asking him to intervene. She has also publicly urged President Donald Trump to reconsider the scope of his immigration enforcement policies. The family's plea drew added attention because it came days after the president said in a television interview that many Americans believe immigrants who are working, contributing and paying taxes should be allowed to stay.
Why she is still detained after winning
A terminated case is a legal victory, but it is not the same as a release order in the family's hands. Because the government can appeal an immigration judge's termination, officials were still weighing that option, and Gutierrez remained in federal custody while they decided, according to the reporting on her supporters. Neither ABC7 nor the family's campaign named the facility where she is being held, and immigration authorities offered no public explanation in the reporting for why she had not been freed by Wednesday. Her supporters say her next birthday, on December 8, is approaching — and the family does not know whether she will spend it in detention or at home.
Confirmed by ABC7 Chicago: Gutierrez, a Mexican-born lawful permanent resident living in Chicago since 1990 and a mother of three, has been detained for more than nine months since travelling to Mexico in February 2026; her family says the deportation case rests on two Illinois retail-theft charges from 1997 that had already been resolved; her hearing was held in Tennessee; Pastor Julie Contreras is seeking clemency from Governor Pritzker. Reported by her supporters on November 11: the immigration court rejected the government's grounds late on November 10 and terminated the proceedings, the government is considering an appeal, and she had not been released. Not public: any statement from ICE or DHS, the facility where she is held, and when she will actually be freed.
The wider lesson for green-card holders
Gutierrez's case illustrates a risk that immigration lawyers have long warned permanent residents about: travelling abroad can reopen a person's history. Two minor offences from 1997 did not surface as a deportation threat during 36 years of living in Chicago, raising a family and travelling to Mexico repeatedly — until a February 2026 trip ended in detention, nine months away from her children, and a court fight she has now won on the merits but not yet in practice. For Punjabi and other diaspora families in the United States — many of whom hold green cards and travel to India and elsewhere every year — the practical lesson is to take legal advice before travelling internationally if there is anything at all in an old record, however minor or however long ago it was resolved.
What happens next
The government must now decide whether to appeal the termination. If it does not, or if an appeal fails, the removal case against Gutierrez is over and she should be released to her family in Chicago. The clemency request to Governor Pritzker is a parallel track her supporters are pursuing in case the federal process stalls. Awaaz Punjab will update this story when Gutierrez is released, or if the government files its appeal.