ICE Detains Young Man in Tennessee and His Mother Reports Him Missing

• ICE detains young man and mother denounces transfer without notice
• Young man detained over broken tail light
• Fears of deportation to Mexico

A family in Tennessee is living through anguish after the detention and transfer of Isai Cabrera, a 24-year-old who arrived in the United States when he was just seven months old.

Cabrera, who has lived his entire life in the U.S., was arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents, and since then, his mother says she does not know his whereabouts.

The Case of Immigrant Isai Cabrera

According to local channel WREG, Cabrera was stopped earlier this month on the highway for having a broken tail light.

When he was unable to present valid identification, he was taken to the ICE detention center in Mason, Tennessee, operated by private company CoreCivic.

His adoptive mother, Leslie Whitehead, explained that she received a distressing call from her son before he was transferred:

“He called me in panic saying they were going to send him somewhere else in the morning, that they came and said everyone had to be ready at 4:30 because they were going to be transferred. I asked him, ‘Where are you going?’ and he said he didn’t know, and that he only had 30 seconds to talk to me.”

The Background

Isai Cabrera lived in Halls, Tennessee, where he was raising his daughter and working multiple jobs, including fence repair and car detailing.

His immigration situation became complicated in 2001, when his biological parents were deported and Whitehead became his legal guardian.

She says she tried to arrange legal residency for her son, but the costs made it impossible:

“We checked the cost of the green card and visa, and it was like $16,000 for the whole process. Unless you’re rich, you can’t pay that.”

She also pointed out that language is a barrier for Isai, since he does not speak Spanish:

“He said the sergeant didn’t like him because he spoke better English than she did.”

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What Both Sides Say

Whitehead insisted that the family has a right to know what happened to Isai Cabrera:

“I feel like we have a right to know where they are. Because we love him and he has a little girl who every day says she misses her dad.”

CoreCivic, the company that manages the Mason detention center, responded to WREG with a statement:

“As a reminder, CoreCivic does not enforce immigration laws, does not arrest anyone who may be in violation of them, nor has any say in deportation, release, or transfer between detention centers. Those decisions are made solely by our government partners at U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).”

What Concerns Isai Cabrera’s Family

Whitehead said she feels devastated by the situation, especially after recently losing her own mother:

“I lost my mom two months ago, and I felt a heartbreaking pain in my stomach like I had lost my son.”

She fears Cabrera may be deported to Mexico, a country where he has no ties or acquaintances:

“We’re worried they’ll send him to Mexico and he won’t know anyone there.”

The Bigger Picture

A family is searching for answers after Isai Cabrera, a man who has lived in the U.S. his entire life, was detained by ICE agents. https://t.co/0WWv8uG30V

— Newsweek (@Newsweek) September 29, 2025

The case of Isai Cabrera unfolds amid stricter immigration policies under President Trump’s administration.

In just the first 100 days of his second term, ICE reported the detention of 66,463 undocumented immigrants and the deportation of 65,682 people.

Cabrera’s case reflects the dilemmas faced by thousands of families living with uncertainty over detention and deportation processes, especially when they involve people who have spent virtually their entire lives in the United States.

Should people like Isai Cabrera, who have grown up almost entirely in the U.S., have a more accessible path to legalizing their immigration status?

Source: Newsweek