Central NY NewsUpdated: Feb. 12, 2026, 8:18 a.m.Published: Feb. 11, 2026, 9:37 a.m.Nain Maldonado-Zavala, 13, and his brother, Jose Maldonado-Zavala, are reunited with their mother, Hilda Yanez-Zavala. She was taken in the Cato immigration raid, despite having legal persmission to work and a pending asylum case. After a month in detention, she decided to self-deport. Her boys had to decide whether to stay in Fulton or go home to her. Provided photoprovided photoBy Marnie Eisenstadt | meisenstadt@syracuse.comJose and Nain Zavala-Maldonado finally hugged their mother Monday. They dragged their suitcases to the side of the airport line and squeezed their mom, Hilda Yanez-Zavala. It was the first time they’d seen her in person since she was taken in an immigration raid of the Cato Nutrition Bar Confectioners factory Sept. 4. The boys flew back to El Salvador Monday. The last time they saw her was the first day of school. Yanez-Zavala made the boys pancakes before heading off to her job on the manufacturing line. A few hours later, she, their sister and 55 others were detained. Some were deported in less than 36 hours without having access to lawyers or appropriate hearings, according to detainees and their lawyers. Many more self-deported in the coming weeks, unable to afford lawyers and unable to send money to their families. Nearly 20 other children were separated from one or both parents. Jessica Maxwell, executive director of the Workers Center of CNY, said the pressure to self-deport has been immense for the workers taken in this raid and others because of how long they are kept in detention. Conditions at all of the immigration detention centers have been described by current and former detainees as overcrowded to the point where there is no place to sleep. “The mental stress and the economic stress of being detained are huge factors in people’s decisions to self-deport,” Maxwell said. Yanez-Zavala had an active asylum case with her two boys. She had a hearing scheduled for late October in Batavia, according to court records. But she said she decided to self-deport because she did not have enough money to pay for a lawyer to represent her in the case. People are not guaranteed legal representation in immigration court the way they are in criminal court. Before Trump’s immigration crackdown, immigrants with pending court cases would not be detained. Yanez-Zavala and her boys were checking in with immigration, regularly, as required, they said. They said they also asked for asylum at the border when they entered the U.S. three years ago, as the law requires. The boys’ older sister was also detained in the raid. She, too, had a pending immigration case and was legally allowed to work, family and advocates said. She was on track to get her Green Card, her family said. She had been in the U.S. longer than the boys and was legally adopted by a family friend who also had a Green Card. The choice to stay or leave was brutal for Nain and Jose. Nain, 13, struggled mightily since his mother was taken, he said. He worried constantly that he and his brother would be taken, and get lost in the immigration system.Jose, 15, wanted to stay. He excelled at wrestling and algebra, and had dreams of becoming a Marine. But in the end, without her job at the factory, the boys’ mother did not have enough money to continue their immigration case. It was safest for them to return home, she said. Marnie Eisenstadt is a public affairs reporter at Syracuse.com | The Post-Standard. She has more than two decades of experience covering a wide range of topics and institutions including mental health,...