A Los Angeles teacher says she believes bounty hunters may have mistakenly seized one of her students before he ended up in federal custody.
Lizette Becerra, who teaches in the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD), visited 18-year-old Benjamin Marcelo Guerrero-Cruz at an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention center on Sunday.
“For about seven days, he couldn’t change. He was in pajama shorts and slippers. He couldn’t bathe or brush his teeth. He was sleeping next to a toilet where he had to wake up every time someone went so he wouldn’t get urinated on,” Becerra told Newsweek.
“It wasn’t until Saturday morning that he was finally able to shower and was issued clothes,” she added, noting that Guerrero-Cruz told her he had also lost weight.
Newsweek reached out to ICE for comment on Friday and Tuesday but has not received a response.
Teen Arrested While Walking His Dog
Guerrero-Cruz is being held at the Adelanto Detention Facility near Victorville, outside Los Angeles. Becerra said he was previously moved between two other facilities in the city following his arrest about two weeks ago.
According to Becerra, Guerrero-Cruz described being surrounded by about 15 men in plain clothes wearing vests labeled “Immigration Police.” They arrived in three SUVs, called him by another name, and forcibly detained him while he tried to explain they had the wrong person.
The men told him they needed to take him for fingerprinting and also took his dog. Becerra said she believes they were bounty hunters searching for someone else but detained Guerrero-Cruz anyway.
“They unclipped his dog and stomped on the ground to make it run away. Eventually, it found its way back,” she said.
Guerrero-Cruz was then held in a post office parking lot until official ICE agents arrived and transferred him into federal custody. On the way, he allegedly overheard the men boasting that they would earn at least $1,500 for his arrest and planned to celebrate with drinks, Becerra said.
‘A Funny, Sweet Kid’
Guerrero-Cruz arrived in Los Angeles in 2023 and joined Becerra’s class for new immigrant students learning English. She taught him for five months before he transferred to Reseda Charter High School, where he was set to begin his senior year last week.
“He was a very memorable kid. I knew exactly who he was. He was funny and sweet,” Becerra recalled. “If we had independent work, he would often pull up a chair next to me just to talk. I would just listen.”
Becerra said many immigrant children carry trauma from family separations and the challenges of adapting to life in the U.S. She puts a great deal of heart into her students and was devastated to learn of Guerrero-Cruz’s detention.
“With everything happening in Los Angeles, I kind of knew this day was coming. I prayed it wouldn’t, but it did,” she said.
The Van Nuys community has rallied around Guerrero-Cruz, raising thousands of dollars through GoFundMe to help cover legal costs and support his family.
The LAUSD previously told Newsweek it remains committed to protecting all students during intensified immigration enforcement in the city and has strengthened safety measures for the new school year.
Becerra said her role as a teacher has changed dramatically. What was once a focus on preparing for potential active shooter scenarios now includes worrying about federal agents detaining students.
“We as a school district and teachers at large assume that the law and our rights will be respected. Unfortunately, what’s happening on the street shows that’s not always the case,” she said.
