Published June 10, 2026 at 5:00 AM CDT Updated June 11, 2026 at 11:14 AM CDT Three Collinsville teenagers were detained by ICE after a traffic stop in central Illinois.Jesus Alexis Cruz, 16, was on the way to his job with two other Collinsville teens when police pulled over the trio in Christian County, according to Cruz family spokesperson Anna Marie Bell.Cruz, along with 19-year-olds Hector Cruz Sanchez and Jonathan Godoy, are in the United States without legal status.Bell alleges police took the vehicle the teens were in and subsequently called U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to pick them up to circumvent the Illinois Trust Act. The state law prohibits local law enforcement agencies from assisting federal immigration agencies with civil immigration enforcement.“[Police] left them on the side of the road with their bags so they would look unhoused,” Bell said. “That’s how ICE picked them up.” Morrisonville Police Chief Robert Aten initiated the traffic stop on Tuesday, according to Christian County Sheriff's Sgt. Anthony Telford. Telford said he heard some radio traffic of the stop but was not involved in it.Aten appears to have ordered the vehicle towed during the stop, according to Telford, and the trio was then transported to a nearby gas station so the teens wouldn’t be left on the highway. Telford said federal immigration officials happened to be near the gas station and picked up the teens.The Morrisonville Police Department, which does not employ full-time officers, according to a Christian County Sheriff’s office staffer, did not respond to multiple phone calls.Cruz’s family declined to comment directly, fearing retaliation from the federal government. St. Louis Public Radio is not naming them for the same reason.Bell said Cruz’s aunt and uncle traveled to St. Louis in an attempt to get more information about the arrests — including who is transporting their nephew, their contact information and who will gain custody of the teen — but were ultimately denied.Bell equated the move to a kidnapping by the federal government.“Now, [Cruz] is being kidnapped and taken by a family he doesn’t know,” she said, “and taken across multiple state borders to Texas.”ICE did not immediately respond to a request for comment.Cruz was transported to a facility in Texas, his family confirmed on Thursday. Cruz-Sanchez and Godoy were transferred to the Ste. Genevieve County Jail in southeastern Missouri, according to detention data. “What makes this situation even more alarming is that Jesus' family has been told he will not be transported by relatives or by people known to the family,” she wrote on Tuesday. “Instead, he will be turned over to individuals the family does not know and has never met.”The office of U.S. Rep. Nikki Budzinski, D-Springfield, confirmed the details of Bell’s social media post.“We understand that one of the individuals may be just 16 years old, which raises serious concerns,” said Budzinski in a written statement. “Our team is in contact with those close to the individuals and is working to gather additional information about their situation.”The congresswoman and U.S. Rep. Wesley Bell, D-St. Louis County, visited the Ste. Genevieve County Jail last month. The southeastern Missouri jail is one of the few in the state that holds ICE detainees.“As we continue to learn more,” Budzinski added. “I will use every oversight tool available to demand transparency and seek answers."Illinois State Rep. Katie Stuart, D-Edwardsville, condemned the federal government's actions.“Regardless of our politics, none of us voted to have children abducted off our streets by agents who have repeatedly shown that they will not be bound by law or by basic decency," she said in a Thursday statement. "There are ways we can stay involved and ensure our voices are heard, though that may feel like an uphill battle.”This story was updated to include comments from the Christian County Sheriff’s Office and Illinois State Rep. Katie Stuart, D-Edwardsville.