The family of a Sheboygan Falls mother who has lived in the United States for 35 years is calling for immigration authorities to release her from detention, saying there is no need for her to be jailed in Kentucky, away from her children.U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detained Elvira Benitez-Suarez, 51, at a check-in appointment in Milwaukee, even though an immigration judge already ruled her deportation order could be thrown out and she could be given a green card."This is one of the most egregious, if not the most egregious, cases that I've seen in my 16 years as an immigration attorney," her attorney, Marc Christopher said at a news conference March 19 at the Voces de la Frontera offices in Milwaukee, where Benitez-Suarez's husband, three of her children and a family friend spoke about her case and the emotional toll it's taken.Benitez-Suarez left Mexico at age 15 after suffering "extreme abuse at the hands of her own family," Christopher said, and she crossed into the U.S. with her 8-year-old sister. She has no criminal record, and she has four U.S. citizen children. She started a cleaning business, learned English, paid taxes and has never taken public assistance, he said."There is absolutely no public safety reason for it at all," Christopher said of her detention. "She is not a flight risk, and she is certainly not a danger to the community.""So I ask, what purpose does this really serve? What are we accomplishing by keeping this mother of four separated from her children at our own taxpayer expense? What does it say about us as a country and us as a society?"The family just hired a Kentucky-based attorney who can file a habeas corpus petition on her behalf. Habeas petitions, arguing someone's detention is illegal, are being filed increasingly as the Trump administration detains immigrants who wouldn't have been kept in custody before, like Benitez-Suarez. A judge may decide on that petition in three to four weeks, Christopher said.Voces de la Frontera launched an online petition calling for her release. Those who sign the petition automatically send an email to Democratic U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin and Republican Sen. Ron Johnson and Rep. Glenn Grothman, urging them to help release Benitez-Suarez.More: 14 years in Wisconsin. A new life in El Salvador. She's trying to accept it.More: From El Salvador to Milwaukee and back: The winding journey of a woman seeking safetyWoman's detention came after government filed an appealBorder agents encountered Benitez-Suarez in July after she, her husband, Ricardo Chavez, and their two school-aged children, 11 and 12, accidentally crossed into Canada on the way to Niagara Falls because of a GPS issue.In part because of processing delays, federal immigration agents kept Benitez-Suarez in detention for six months, even after an immigration judge ruled in her favor and decided her two youngest children would suffer "extreme hardship" if she were deported. Finally, though, she was released in December.The judge's ruling canceling her deportation order meant she would have automatically received a green card, or legal permanent residency, had the federal government not filed an appeal in her case. The government attorneys filed it on the last possible day, Christopher said.A government appeal may take 18 months to be decided, and under prior presidential administrations, an immigrant like Benitez-Suarez with strong community ties, no criminal record and U.S. citizen children would not have been detained while they waited for the appeal to be decided, Christopher said.The habeas petition, if successful, would allow her to wait at home with her family for a decision in the appeal.As she was leaving a routine ICE appointment March 10, Christopher said ICE officers took her into custody. She had gone to every ICE appointment that was required of her, he said.The Department of Homeland Security said in a statement: "Being in detention is a choice," and urged immigrants in the country without documentation to leave on their own accord. Christopher pushed back on that assertion, as Benitez-Suarez already spent time in detention and won her case to stay in the U.S.He also noted that it is a civil offense to be in the U.S. without authorization, not a criminal offense.Despite living in the U.S. for decades, Benitez-Suarez did not have any path to a legal status until she was detained and a deportation order was entered against her. That allowed her to present her case to a judge and ask to stay in the country.Mother, children struggle with second round of detentionBenitez-Suarez is being held at the Campbell County Detention Center in Kentucky. Her adult daughter, Crystal Aguilar, said her mother has been "in despair" on the calls she's had with her from the detention center, and she's scared because she's being held with the general jail population."I know my mom is struggling, and it's not easy having to hear her over the phone falling apart," Aguilar said.Christopher is only allowed to speak with Benitez-Suarez in 20-minute increments, which need to be scheduled days in advance. He said she is depressed and has medical issues that are going unaddressed.Benitez-Suarez's 12-year-old daughter, Natalie Chavez, said her mother used to help her with her anxiety and panic attacks, and now she faces those issues alone. Natalie's mental health concerns and the children's struggles in school in her absence were part of the basis for the judge ruling to throw out her deportation order."My mom is not a criminal. She does a lot of good things. She helps us, she helps her community, she helps her church, she helps others," Natalie said.Maggie Gorski, a family friend, attends Christian Life Church in Mequon alongside Benitez-Suarez, who goes to every Wednesday and Sunday service, she said. Benitez-Suarez volunteers at the church and at the children's school, and is "the kind of neighbor you would want.""It's shameful what's going on in our country right now. I am ashamed," Gorski said. "She's generous, considerate, loving, faithful, the kind of friend who loves your children as your own. I only hope that other people can see this, and can see that what is happening is unjust and wrong."Christopher addressed his remarks to DHS officials and asked them to take a careful look at her case and "do something that you know is right" by releasing her.Then he spoke directly to those following the news coverage."I want you to look at this with open hears, open minds. Is this what want as a country? Is this the way we treat other people?" he said.Sophie Carson is a general assignment reporter who reports on religion and faith, immigrants and refugees and more. Contact her at scarson@gannett.com or 920-323-5758.