Silvia Reyna, a Sacramento-area undocumented woman who was suing a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement contractor for sexual harassment, was deported to Mexico early Saturday morning before her lawsuit could be heard in court.

Reyna, 52, was removed from her cell at a Kern County detention facility and transported in the pre-dawn hours on Saturday to the U.S.-Mexico border crossing south of San Diego, where she walked across the border into Tijuana and called her family, said her son, Francisco Govea of Red Bluff.

“They are trying to bury my mom’s sexual harassment case,” said Govea, a U.S. Army veteran.

Reyna’s lawyers filed her lawsuit in Sacramento Superior Court on Oct. 17, alleging that one of the workers employed by the ICE contractor sexually harassed Reyna for over a year and a half, including texting her nude photos and making aggressive, unwanted advances.

Reyna’s suit names as defendants BI Incorporated., which develops electronic monitoring systems for ICE and other government agencies; and Luis Ruiz and Montserrat Esquivel, two individuals the suit says are BI employees.

“Ruiz, who had access to (Reyna’s) cell phone number, engaged in unwelcome sexual harassment of Plaintiff, including calling her on her phone, calling her by video, texting pictures of himself naked with an erect penis, and sending videos of himself masturbating. Ruiz also attempted to coerce (Reyna) for sexual favors, stating words to the effect of, ‘If you’re good to me, I’ll be good to you,” the complaint says.

Govea said his family also reported the alleged abuse to the Sacramento Police Department. Sgt. Dan Wiseman, a department spokesman, said an investigation is ongoing.

BI Incorporated told The Sacramento Bee “it takes all allegations of sexual abuse and harassment with the utmost seriousness” and will “take steps to ensure a thorough investigation of all related complaints.”

Ruiz and Esquivel have not been reached for comment, and ICE has not responded to requests for comment.

Reyna came to live in Northern California as an undocumented immigrant when she was a teenager and has lived north of Sacramento for nearly 40 years. She has raised eight kids in the small town of Corning, in Tehama County. Her family said she has tried unsuccessfully through the years to establish legal residency in the United States. She was attending mandated meetings with ICE when her family said she first crossed paths with Ruiz, who was assigned as her case specialist.

In her lawsuit, Reyna claims that Ruiz adopted an aggressive posture and that she would “shake with fear” every time she had to meet with him. Because she was undocumented, Reyna felt for a time that she couldn’t say anything for fear of reprisals, her family said.

When she finally reported Ruiz on Nov. 16, 2024, Reyna’s suit claims that Esquivel of BI Incorporated “took” her phone while Reyna was being questioned by another BI employee. When it was returned, Reyna’s suit claims that nude photos of Ruiz and lewd texts he had sent her were removed from the phone. Fearing that her claims might not be believed, Reyna’s family said their mother shared evidence of her alleged harassment with them the night before the Nov. 16 meeting. Some of these images have been shared with The Bee.

With her deportation now complete, it’s unclear whether Reyna and her family will get that chance. On Friday at approximately 6 p.m., the family got a call from what they believed was a Bakersfield area code from a man identifying himself as an ICE agent. The family was told that their mother was being removed to Mexico.

Govea said his mom’s immigration lawyers obtained a stay of deportation at 10 p.m. but that they were unable to reach anyone with ICE. Early Saturday morning, Reyna called her family to tell them she was in Tijuana, Govea said.

He said his mother doesn’t know anyone in Tijuana and was staying near the border in an area where many deportees stay before trying to find shelter elsewhere.

Govea said the family trying to see if Reyna could somehow travel to be with family near the city of Guadalajara, about 1,400 miles south of Tijuana.