Video showing Southern California mother's immigration arrest in front of weeping daughters sparks outrage

Video of a woman being pulled away from her weeping daughters on a California street and shoved into a U.S. Customs and Border Protection vehicle is drawing criticism.|
ASSOCIATED PRESS
BY ASSOCIATED PRESS

SAN DIEGO - Video of a woman being pulled away from her weeping daughters on a California street and shoved into a U.S. Customs and Border Protection vehicle is drawing criticism of the manner in which federal agents are enforcing immigration laws.

The incident occurred March 3 in National City, a community south of San Diego.

The Border Patrol says Perla Morales-Luna was identified as an organizer for a transnational criminal smuggling organization and was arrested for being in the country illegally.

The arrest was described as "grotesque" by Benjamin Prado, coordinator for the American Friends Service Committee's San Diego U.S.-Mexico Border Program. Prado tells the Los Angeles Times that he's concerned about the "terror" the woman's daughters suffered.

An attorney for Morales-Luna did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

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