Chicana Painter Criselda Vasquez's Father Detained by ICE, Family Raises Funds

On March 31, Criselda Vasquez, a Chicana artist from California, disclosed that her father was apprehended by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) near a neighbor’s residence while returning from work, an event she labeled as racial profiling. Having resided in the U.S. for over 40 years, her father was taken into custody along with one of his employees. Vasquez announced this incident via an Instagram post on April 3, revealing her family's heartbreak. Shortly thereafter, a GoFundMe campaign was initiated, raising nearly $68,000 towards an $80,000 target in just ten days to assist with legal expenses and lost income. Her father is depicted in her 2017 artwork "The New American Gothic," which was acquired by the Lucas Museum for Narrative Art in 2021. In an April 13 email to Hyperallergic, Vasquez highlighted her father's dedication as a family man and hardworking individual, mentioning that all four of his children are U.S. citizens. This incident aligns with a rise in ICE street arrests during President Trump's administration, according to the Deportation Data Project.