Two families heading home from a back-to-school event were detained by U.S. Customs and Border Protection last week, according to United Way of Yellowstone County.

The separate incidents prompted the nonprofit to inform others Thursday that the event where free school supplies were handed out was a potential target of immigration enforcement and raised safety concerns.

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The United Way of Yellowstone County office at 2713 Overland Ave. 

ALEX MITCHELL, Billings Gazette

United Way of Yellowstone County CEO Andrew Konkel said a father and daughter had barely left the organization's parking lot when officers pulled them over and detained them on Aug. 11. Shortly after United Way verified that incident, they learned another family was detained after leaving the event on Aug. 12, Konkel said.

United Way sent out an email addressed to more than 100 of its community partners on Thursday.

“The occurrence of two detentions immediately following attendance at our event on consecutive days raised serious concerns for us about whether our event was being observed as a means of identifying individuals or families for immigration enforcement,” United Way wrote.

In a statement to the Gazette, a CBP spokesperson wrote that “CBP was not targeting a back-to-school event in Billings as alleged by the United Way. The individuals encountered were part of targeted enforcement operations by the U.S. Border Patrol. Any proximity to the event is purely coincidental.”

Konkel said it wasn’t an easy decision to send out the missive, but said the nonprofit's board approved the announcement in advance. He emphasized that the message wasn’t taking a political stance on immigration enforcement, but was meant to inform groups that could find themselves in similar situations of safety concerns.

“It can be a traumatic event, and it's not impacting only the families that may be detained, but other families and children in the vicinity, or, maybe they were friends with the other individuals,” Konkel told the Billings Gazette. “And so it brings a lot of traumatic types of events. It’s not what we are trying to promote when we are putting together these community events. We're trying to promote unity and lifting each other up. And so, from that standpoint alone, it’s about trying to ensure the safety of everyone in the public attending our events and feeling safe.”

He said the email was met with overwhelming positivity when it was sent out Thursday. The nonprofit had never encountered such a situation before.

Immigration enforcement efforts have increased significantly under the second Trump administration as they try to reach established deportation quotas. 

The father and daughter were likely 36-year-old Adrián Espinoza De La Cruz and his 9-year-old daughter, who were detained while driving in Billings, according to United Way.

De La Cruz has lived in Billings for four years, and his daughter for three. She was preparing to start fourth grade at Orchard Elementary School in Billings in a couple weeks, court documents noted. Aug. 11 was their first interaction with any law enforcement during their time in the U.S. They were detained at 11 a.m. on Aug. 11 while the dad was driving, which aligns with United Way’s account of what happened.

Though United Way initially said the detainment was conducted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, rather than CBP, ICE said they weren’t involved with the arrest or operation. Court documents did not reveal the exact location of the detainment.

In its statement to the Gazette, CBP confirmed that border patrol agents were conducting operations in the area of Overland Avenue when an adult and a minor child were arrested after a vehicle stop of a Chevrolet Suburban. United Way's office is located on Overland Avenue. 

It wasn't clear what prompted the stop of the two. However, Border Patrol can pull over anyone they suspect of being a noncitizen of the U.S. That includes race as a metric. CBP said that the adult man, whom they left unnamed, admitted to illegal immigration, stating he entered the U.S. on Sept. 20, 2021, near El Paso, Texas. They confirmed those records in coordination with ICE, CBP said. 

CBP said the identified Mexican citizens have been placed into supervised release, as is consistent with a court order.

The two were released earlier this week, as first reported by the Daily Montanan. They were detained before a warrant for their arrest was written, with the warrant issued after the father and daughter were transferred to Havre, where they were held for eight days in a border patrol station.

In Judge Brian Morris’ Aug. 19 release order, he noted concerns about an “alleged lack of proper bedding and basic amenities typically found in long-term detention facilities which the Havre Border Patrol Station lacks.”

In granting their release, the judge found their detainment to be illegal and barred the government from detaining them again before an immigration court hearing is held. The government would need to establish evidence that detainment is needed first under the ruling.

“Court finds this case particularly disturbing considering the Government’s lack of regard for the rights of a father and minor child,” Morris wrote.

When contacted by the Gazette, attorneys from Upper Seven Law who are representing De La Cruz pointed to court documents but said they couldn’t confirm whether it was their clients who were arrested as part of the incident. 

The other family United Way mentioned as detained was ultimately released, the organization said. It wasn't the first CBP detainment in the Billings area. CBP reported 13 detainments along the interstate corridor in Billings in May.

Konkel said they hope the detainments don't change how they hold events in the future.

“However, we are taking steps to learn what we can do to ensure again the safety of people attending our event in the community, and so depending on what we learn, there may or may not be changes,” he said. “But we are hoping that we will not have to visibly change much of our events and how we operate.”

United Way served at least 700 local kids this year through their backpack distribution event, with no one having to sign up in advance. No personal information was collected around income or residency, United Way said.

“Our nonprofit community exists because people trust us enough to come to us when they need help," their email noted. "Protecting that trust — and doing everything reasonably within our ability to protect the safety and dignity of the people we serve — must remain at the center of our work."

Editor's note: This story has been updated with comment from CBP.