'Our children do not belong in cages': Sarasota family demands return of daughter held by ICE

SARASOTA, Fla. — A Sarasota family is shaken up after being separated from their daughter. Federal agents with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrested 22-year-old daughter, Maria Martinez. And now, they are demanding for her return.

She is known to her family as "Lulu."

"Ever since I brought my family, and brought Lulu here, she has really worked hard to be a student, learned English, and focused on making something of herself," said Sandro Martinez, Lulu's dad in Spanish.

She had just graduated from the State College of Florida in Venice with a degree in Business Administration. But her family said she has dreams of becoming a pilot.

WATCH NOW: 'Our children do not belong in cages:' Sarasota family demands return of daughter held by ICE

Her family did not disclose her citizenship status.

"This is definitely not easy for me to expose my family like this," said Lourdes Martinez, Lulu's mom in Spanish.

On May 21, police records show North Port Police pulled Lulu over for making an illegal U-turn, but then they arrested her for driving without a license.

"I know that my daughter is not the only one going through this difficult time, but she is not a criminal," said Lourdes. "She does not deserve to be there."

She was eventually transferred to Sarasota County Jail, where her mom said she was mistreated and tricked.

"They treated her with a lot racism, and treated her like a criminal," said Lourdes. "The agents told her that her mom had paid her bond, and that her family was waiting for her. And when my daughter got out, ICE was waiting for her. They played her."

She has since been transferred to several different detention centers – from Tampa, to Miami to now El Valle Detention Facility in Texas.

Lourdes and her family, along with members of the Tampa Bay Immigrant Solidarity Network, stood together demanding for her return.

"Our children do not belong in cages," said Ruth Beltran, a community organizer with Tampa Bay Immigrant Solidarity Network.

Lulu came to America from Mexico at the age of 12 with her family. Lourdes said they came here seeking the American dream of freedom and opportunity.

"I can say that like many other immigrants, we come here to give our families a better future for our children," said Lourdes. "I know that maybe this is not the right way to come into this country, but we all have made mistakes, have made errors in the past, but I believe that we all deserve an opportunity."

But now, it has unfortunately come at the cost of watching her daughter get arrested.

"I think that Americans everywhere are asking themselves, 'Is this really what we signed up for - to have 18-year-old kids who have committed no crime be in jail because it furthers an agenda?'" questioned Renata Castro, USA 4 ALL Immigration attorney. "ICE is engaging lately in some removal strategies that are more designed to create panic in the immigrant community than to actually execute the law."

Castro said federal agents are using the separation of kids from families as a tactic to have entire families deported.

"Usually what happens is that the parents will get so sad and heartbroken that in spite of all the issues that they will find back home, they end up leaving," said Castro. "So, it's cheaper for the U.S government. It's really a sadistic, dare I say, manner to prove virtue and law when it really is very far from that. It is pushing a political agenda that does not favor the United States at all."

Now, Lulu's family is just pleading for agents to let her out on bond, so she can have a due process. But right now, it's a waiting game.

"Bring Maria back home now," chanted Beltran and community members.

Castro wants to remind immigrant families that while you may be without status, you are not without rights. She said it’s important to not sign any documents or make any statements to ICE without legal counsel.