Woman Deported After Reporting Sexual Harassment by ICE Contractor

(SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA) A California mother of eight U.S. citizen children was deported to Mexico on October 25, 2025, one day after her civil lawsuit alleging sexual harassment by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement contractor became public, according to her attorneys. The legal team for Silvia Reyna Mendoza says she had an emergency stay on her deportation case at the time, calling the removal “illegal” and questioning why she was expelled so soon after the exposure of her claims against BI Incorporated, a company that monitors people in immigration cases under a contract with the Department of Homeland Security.

The lawsuit, filed in Sacramento County, names BI Incorporated and describes a pattern of alleged abuse and retaliation that, her family and lawyers argue, culminated in her rapid removal following media coverage of the case on Thursday, October 24, 2025. Her attorney said,

“It’s obviously very, very suspicious because all along the defendants that we are suing have been working very hard to cover up the sexual harassment,”

and later added,

“We’re still investigating this. We want all the facts to come out, and we want the individuals who have harmed her to be brought to justice.”

Federal immigration officials have not responded to requests for information about the deportation. A spokesperson for The GEO Group, the parent company of BI Incorporated, said the company has a zero-tolerance policy and conducts thorough investigations into complaints.

Reyna Mendoza arrived in the United States from Mexico as a teenager fleeing domestic violence and spent decades in Sacramento, according to court filings. After roughly 40 years in California, she was still subject to monitoring in her immigration case, and BI Incorporated assigned her to report to a case specialist every other month, alternating between in-person visits and video calls. The case records allege that in 2023, her assigned specialist, Luis Ruiz, “engaged in severe and pervasive sexual harassment, including requesting sexual favors and sending her sexually explicit text messages and videos.” The complaint says Ruiz made comments such as, “If you’re good to me, I’ll be good to you.”

Faced with what she believed was escalating misconduct, Reyna Mendoza reported Ruiz to another specialist and to a supervisor, Montserrat Esquivel, in November 2024, according to the lawsuit. The filings claim Esquivel “deleted the text messages and videos from Ruiz from her phone,” although Reyna Mendoza had saved copies of some of the messages. Her attorneys say BI Incorporated never followed up on the sexual harassment complaint. The Sacramento Police Department confirmed that a criminal report was filed against Ruiz, though it said it could not share further details.

Her son, Francisco Govea, described the toll of reporting alleged abuse to the very network that oversaw his mother’s freedom of movement in Sacramento.

“It’s really hard when you’re trying to speak up to the authorities of what’s going on and they dismiss it. Who do you ask for help at that point?”

said Govea, who grew up with his mother in California and watched her continue checking in as required with BI Incorporated while the family waited for answers.

The lawsuit lays out a timeline that the family and her attorneys view as retaliatory. After the complaint to BI Incorporated, the company began requiring her to wear an ankle monitor in March 2025, the lawsuit says. In September 2025, she was detained by ICE and held at a corrections center in California City, Kern County. While she was in custody, Govea said,

“I can hear in her voice—she’s scared, she’s depressed, she’s anxious.”

Her daughter, Patrisia Reyna, said she struggled to stay hopeful as the family scrambled for updates on their mother’s case:

“I just felt very anxious and kind of hopeless, like, I want to do more for her. But I know she was scared and she had her concerns.”

The pressure built as her civil complaint moved forward. KCRA 3 aired a story about the case on Thursday, October 24, 2025, highlighting allegations that her BI Incorporated specialist had solicited sexual favors and sent explicit content, and that a supervising employee deleted evidence instead of preserving it. By early Friday morning, October 25, 2025, her attorneys say, she had been deported to Mexico despite an emergency stay that they contend should have halted removal while legal actions were pending. Her legal team insists she was “illegally deported,” and is preparing to continue the lawsuit from California with her participation by video from Mexico if needed.

For her eight children, all U.S. citizens, the sudden absence of their mother has left a hole in daily life and raised questions about how an alleged victim of sexual harassment could be sent out of the country while seeking accountability.

“She raised us with good morals and intentions and treating others right,”

said Govea. He said the family feels the deportation reduces their mother to a case number in a system that did not listen.

“She’s the center of our community. I mean, if they don’t care about illegal immigrants… it’s like what about the rest of my siblings? We’re all Americans contributing to society. Like, do you care about us? Where do you draw the fine line? I just don’t understand,”

he said.

BI Incorporated, which oversees check-ins and electronic monitoring for people navigating immigration cases, is owned by The GEO Group. In a statement, Christopher V. Ferreira, Director of Corporate Relations for The GEO Group, said:

“BI takes all allegations of sexual abuse and harassment with the utmost seriousness. We have a zero-tolerance policy as it relates to such matters and take steps to ensure a thorough investigation of all related complaints. BI stands by our provision of high-quality support services to the Department of Homeland Security in accordance with all established federal standards.”

The company did not address the specific allegations involving Ruiz or Esquivel in the statement provided to media. The defendants in the civil case have not yet filed a response to the lawsuit.

The allegations described in the complaint are unusually specific. Court records say Ruiz sent “sexually explicit text messages and videos” to Reyna Mendoza and conditioned her treatment on cooperation, saying, “If you’re good to me, I’ll be good to you.” After she reported the alleged harassment to BI Incorporated, the lawsuit says, Esquivel “deleted the text messages and videos from Ruiz from her phone,” even as Reyna Mendoza preserved some copies. Her attorneys argue that the sequence that followed—an ankle monitor in March 2025, detention in September 2025, and deportation on October 25, 2025—reflects escalating retaliation rather than routine case management.

As the family processes the deportation, they say the consequences are immediate and practical. The eight siblings, who grew up with their mother in Sacramento, are balancing work, school, and child care while trying to coordinate communication with their mother now across the border. They say the speed of the deportation—less than 24 hours after a broadcast about her case—has made it harder to secure her documents, medicine, and legal paperwork, and has left them worried about her safety and access to counsel while the civil suit advances in Sacramento County.

Attorneys representing Reyna Mendoza say they intend to depose company employees and seek records about how BI Incorporated handled the complaint and what steps were taken to protect a client who had reported alleged sexual harassment by a case specialist. They argue the company ignored internal red flags and failed to act even after a report reached a supervisor. Her legal team says they will push for court orders compelling production of electronic communication logs, supervisory notes, and any internal investigations or incident reports that BI Incorporated opened or closed after November 2024.

The case has also drawn attention to the role of contractors in sensitive immigration processes. BI Incorporated and other companies provide monitoring and check-in services under contract while cases move through administrative and judicial channels. For families like the Reynas, the company’s day-to-day control over schedules, reporting requirements, and electronic monitoring affects whether a parent can work a shift, attend a child’s school event, or even seek medical care without worrying that a missed call or delayed appointment will result in a violation. When allegations arise against a case specialist, the stakes can be even higher, as the person assigned to monitor compliance also influences how potential violations are documented and reported.

The Sacramento Police Department’s confirmation of a criminal report against Ruiz underscores that the allegations extend beyond workplace policy disputes and could carry criminal implications. Police said they could not share more details while the matter is under review. For the family, that means parallel processes—civil litigation over alleged misconduct and a police report naming the same case specialist—are now unfolding without their mother present in the United States to meet with investigators or attend hearings in person.

Her attorneys say that the civil case will proceed and that, if required, she will testify remotely from Mexico. They argue that the deportation should not prejudice the case, and that a paper trail of messages, call logs, and recorded check-ins will establish both the sexual harassment and the subsequent retaliation. The defense has not made its arguments public, and without a filed response, the company’s position on the specific claims remains unknown beyond the statement that it takes such allegations seriously and investigates complaints.

For the Reyna children, the legal fight is inseparable from the daily realities of a family suddenly split across a border. Govea said the faith community that knows his mother is rallying, but the lingering questions add to the frustration they feel.

“It’s really hard when you’re trying to speak up to the authorities of what’s going on and they dismiss it. Who do you ask for help at that point?”

he said. He added that what haunts him most is the sound of her voice during the weeks she spent in detention before the deportation:

“I can hear in her voice—she’s scared, she’s depressed, she’s anxious.”

The case comes as advocates have long urged stronger oversight of contractors working alongside federal agencies in the immigration system. While the lawsuit centers on the actions of a single case specialist and a supervisor, it also challenges how BI Incorporated handled a complaint that, the family says, was met with indifference or worse. The company’s statement described a zero-tolerance policy and a model of “high-quality support services” aligned with federal standards, but it did not address the alleged deletion of evidence or why there was no follow-up on the sexual harassment complaint, as the lawsuit claims.

Attorneys for Reyna Mendoza say they plan to present the emergency stay paperwork they believe should have halted her removal on October 25, 2025, along with correspondence showing that government officials were on notice of the litigation and public reporting about the claims when the deportation occurred. They say they will also seek information from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (policy) about the timing of the removal, the decision path, and any consideration given to the pending complaint and stay request. Federal immigration officials did not respond to questions about why she was deported on the morning after a local broadcast focused on the lawsuit.

In Sacramento, the family is bracing for a protracted court battle. The defendants have not yet filed a response to the lawsuit, and the case could take months or longer before a judge hears arguments on motions and discovery disputes. In the meantime, the children say they are keeping copies of the text messages and videos that their mother saved, as well as notes of her check-ins with BI Incorporated, hoping that the records will carry the weight their voices did not when she first reported what was happening.

“She’s the center of our community,” Govea said. “Like, do you care about us? Where do you draw the fine line? I just don’t understand,”

he said, repeating the questions that have followed the family since the day she reported the case to a supervisor in November 2024.

From start to finish, the lawsuit paints a portrait of a woman who tried to follow the rules of the system that controlled her movements in Sacramento and who says she asked for help when a person in authority crossed a line. Whether the courts or the police affirm the allegations, the deportation ensures that the next steps will play out with Reyna Mendoza participating from Mexico and her children speaking for her in the city where she spent most of her life. Her attorney called the timing “very, very suspicious,” and vowed to press ahead:

“We’re still investigating this. We want all the facts to come out, and we want the individuals who have harmed her to be brought to justice.”