A woman, referred to as Marisa, recently experienced a traumatic immigration raid in her new Oklahoma home, just two weeks after moving from Maryland. Federal agents, identifying themselves as from ICE and the FBI, seized their belongings—including phones, laptops, and life savings—despite not being the suspects they were searching for. The agents forced Marisa and her daughters outside in the rain, causing distress. Marisa insisted they were citizens and posed no threat, but the agents were dismissive. Now, they are left with nothing and face uncertainty about recovering their belongings, as officials deflect responsibility for the raid.
OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) — A woman shares that her family’s new beginning in Oklahoma quickly turned into a distressing ordeal after federal immigration agents raided their home, taking their phones, laptops, and life savings—even though they were not the targets of the operation.
The agents possessed a search warrant for the residence; however, the suspects named on the warrant do not reside there.
The resident of the home had recently relocated to Oklahoma City from Maryland with her family just two weeks prior.
The woman, identified by News 4 as “Marisa,” and her three daughters arrived in Oklahoma seeking a slower, more affordable lifestyle.
They found a rental home in what appeared to be a safe neighborhood in northwest Oklahoma City.
Meanwhile, her husband remained in Maryland for a few extra weeks, planning to join them over the weekend.
“I thought, ‘okay, Oklahoma’s my home now,’” Marisa recounted.
Yet any sense of comfort vanished Thursday morning when around 20 armed men forcefully entered their home.
“I couldn’t tell who they were,” she shared. “It was dark. All the lights were off.”
Marisa recounted that the men claimed to be federal agents from the U.S. Marshals, ICE, and the FBI.
On Tuesday, a spokesperson from the U.S. Marshals Service denied having agents at the scene, stating to News 4 that they were “aware of the operation beforehand,” but did not participate.
“I kept asking them, ‘who are you? What are you doing?’” she recounted. “They responded, ‘we have a search warrant for the house.’”
She shared that the agents forced her and her daughters outside into the rain before they could even get dressed.
“They wanted me to change in front of them all,” she said. “My husband hasn’t even seen my daughter in her undergarments—her own father, out of respect. But they had her outside, a minor, in her underwear.”
Marisa noted that the names listed on the search warrant were not hers or anyone in her family.
She recognized the names as those associated with mail still being delivered to the house—likely former residents.
“We just moved here from Maryland,” she insisted. “We’re citizens. That’s what I kept saying. We’re citizens.”
Yet, she felt the agents were unconcerned.
“They were very dismissive, rough, and careless,” she described. “I kept pleading, telling them we weren’t criminals. They treated us like criminals. We were alone; we didn’t do anything wrong.”
Marisa claimed the agents ransacked every corner of their home and belongings, taking their phones, laptops, and life savings as “evidence.”
“I told them before they left that they took my phone. We have no money. I just moved here,” she said. “I need to feed my children, and I require gas money to get around. How could you leave me like this? Like an abandoned dog.”
Before departing, Marisa said one agent made an unkind remark.
“One of them said, ‘I know it was a little rough this morning,’” she recalled. “That was so degrading. You do all of this to a family, to women, your fellow citizens, and it was just a bit rough? You traumatized me and my daughters for life. We’ll need help to get over this somehow.”
Now, Marisa finds herself with virtually nothing.
“I asked, ‘when are we getting our things back?’ They responded, it could take days or even months,” she shared.
Marisa is left with an array of questions.
“What if I had been armed?” she pondered. “You’re breaking in. What should I think? My first thought was that we were being robbed—that my daughters were being kidnapped. You have guns trained on us. Can you see us as humans, as women? Show a little mercy. Care for your fellow human beings, for your fellow citizens. We bleed, we work, we are terrified just like anyone else. We’re scared. You could see our faces. What makes you more deserving of your peace? What makes you more deserving of protecting your children? What makes you more entitled to safety? To the rights they took from me to protect my daughters?”
Marisa told News 4 that the agents wouldn’t even provide her a business card.
She expressed uncertainty about how to retrieve her belongings.
Marissa informed KFOR that the U.S. Marshals Service and the FBI participated in the raid.
However, a representative from the U.S. Marshals Service stated their team was not involved.
News 4 contacted the FBI. Last week, a spokesperson indicated they were involved in this case and pointed inquiries to Homeland Security.
Late Tuesday, the FBI informed KFOR they were not on-site and directed inquiries back to Homeland Security, which we did contact.
A spokesperson for Homeland Security assured News 4 that they are investigating the situation and will respond, but they have not yet been in touch.
As for Marissa’s phones, electronics, and cash, there is no clarity on which agency currently has her belongings or how to recover them.