An El Salvadoran illegal alien who screamed “help me, I have papers” as she was being scooped up by immigration authorities has alleged that she didn’t know that there was an open deportation order against her.
Video footage of the mother of four, 39-year-old Marta Brizeyda Renderos Leiva, recently went viral after her arrest at Salt Lake City International Airport on Oct. 29.
Watch:
The left has been claiming she was a U.S. citizen, but ICE has confirmed otherwise. Marta Brizeyda Renderos Leiva, a 39-year-old illegal immigrant from El Salvador with a 2020 deportation order, was arrested at Salt Lake City International Airport on October 29, 2025. pic.twitter.com/RCXt5V4G5K
— Clown World ™ (@ClownWorld_) October 31, 2025
As seen above, Leiva was frantically screaming for help, alleging that she had papers allowing her to remain in the States.
“She is a woman who had no idea there was a removal order against her,” her attorney, Andy Armstrong, told Salt Lake City station KSTU, adding that the deportation order was filed after his client failed to appear for a court hearing.
But, Armstrong claimed, she never attended the court hearing because the hearing notice was accidentally sent to her notary instead of her.
“She went to this individual to help her fill out the forms, as many immigrants do, go to these services, and we believe that it was his address that was on the form as his address,” the attorney explained.
According to Armstrong, Leiva also had a work permit until 2029 that was approved in 2024 — which is why she genuinely thought she was safe from deportation at the airport. It turned out she was wrong.
“Her name certainly popped up in an immigration database to show she had a removal order,” the lawyer said. “So ICE went to detain her at the airport because they knew that’s where she would be. Now we know they didn’t choose the airport because they just simply didn’t want to go to their house — they didn’t have a record of where her house was.”
“Immigrants that are in immigration court have a responsibility to keep their address updated, with the immigration court and with ICE. But they have to know that they have a responsibility, and she did not know that, and she never knew her case had been transferred over to ICE,” he added.
Salt Lake International Video Surveillance of arrest made Thursday by CBP and DHS for ICE.
The woman was identified as 39-year-old Marta Brizeyda Renderos Leiva, according to ICE officials.
They said Leiva entered the US from El Salvador in 2007 and was given a final “removal… pic.twitter.com/n7IlBS7MQA
— Heidi Hatch KUTV (@tvheidihatch) November 1, 2025
As of Tuesday, Leiva remained in an immigration detention facility in Salt Lake County, according to Newsweek.
Her family, meanwhile, was not happy.
“It makes me very sad because we’re human beings and we don’t deserve to be treated like that,” a close family member told KSTU. “I think that we don’t do anyone any harm. We just go out to earn our daily bread, to earn for our kids. We don’t do anything bad, that’s against the rules.”
“She came here always with the hope that she’d have a better future and help her children advance. She’s always been dedicated to her children, an exemplary mother, a good neighbor. We’ve never had problems with anyone,” they added.
The family member added that they’re hopeful Leiva’s attorneys will sort everything out.
“I have hope in God and that God will guide each and every one working on this case so that this is resolved as quickly as possible, because she’s still the mother of a family and her children really need her,” they said.
The family has since launched a GoFundMe fundraiser, but, the fundraiser is entirely in Spanish.
In a statement made to Newsweek, a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) spokesperson defended Leiva’s deportation.
“ICE is executing its mission of identifying and removing criminal aliens and others who have violated our nation’s immigration laws,” they said. “All aliens in violation of U.S. immigration law may be subject to arrest, detention, and, if found removable by final order, removal from the United States, regardless of nationality.”
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V. Saxena is a staff writer with a decade of experience as a professional writer, and a lifetime of experience as an avid news junkie. He holds a degree in computer technology from Purdue University. Saxena also contributes to BizPac Review.
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