Holding a photo of her son, Jen Heiling begged in court for the woman accused of killing her son to face trial.
In July, 19-year-old Brady Heiling was driving home from a Coldplay concert with his girlfriend, 18-year-old Hallie Helgeson, when they were struck and killed by a wrong-way driver on Highway I-90 in Madison.
Driving the other car was 30-year-old Noelia Saray Martinez-Avila, with a blood alcohol level over twice the legal limit, according to prosecutors. She was charged with six felonies and three misdemeanors, including homicide by intoxicated use of a vehicle.
“All of us want Noelia to own up to her bad decisions,” Jen Heiling told the judge on Aug. 15.
The only complication: Martinez-Avila could be deported before she faces her charges.
As federal immigration officers rush to carry out President Donald Trump’s immigration enforcement efforts, local prosecutors are increasingly concerned that immigrants accused of serious crimes in Wisconsin could be deported before they stand trial or serve their sentences.
Since January, when the Trump administration ramped up its arrest quotas, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents have quadrupled arrests of people in Wisconsin with pending criminal cases, according to a Milwaukee Journal Sentinel analysis.
Critics say the strategy denies justice to crime victims and makes communities vulnerable to offenders who may re-enter the country and commit crimes again.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security did not respond to requests for comment. In May, DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin told the New York Times that the agency was “going to make thoughtful decisions in each case and do whatever is most likely to keep the American people safe.”
However, if someone is out on bail, she said the department will choose deportation.
“We think victims would rather their assailants not roam America’s streets,” she said.
In Martinez-Avila’s case, federal immigration officials arrested her within an hour of her posting bail. That prompted local prosecutors to file an emergency motion to force ICE to return her to local custody to prevent her early deportation.
In a statement, Dane County District Attorney Ismael Ozanne acknowledged that federal immigration enforcement efforts have sometimes clashed with local criminal justice priorities.
“When individuals are taken into custody and are likely to be sent out of our country, it is almost certain we will not have an ability to hold some offenders accountable for their actions,” Ozanne wrote.
Dane County District Attorney Ismael Ozanne said premature ICE deportations can make it harder for local law enforcement officials to prosecute offenders.
Milwaukee defendants have also been arrested by ICE in ongoing cases
Milwaukee has faced similar conflicts.
Kevin Lopez, a 36-year-old Mexican citizen charged with sexually assaulting a woman and a 14-year-old, was part of a string of people arrested by immigration officers at the Milwaukee County Courthouse earlier this year.
As with Martinez-Avila’s case, prosecutors filed a motion to return Lopez to local custody to prevent his premature deportation. They argued that deporting Lopez would show a lack of respect for his alleged victims and deny them closure.
“We did have pretrial conditional release options that were working,” Assistant District Attorney Katrina Voge told a judge on May 13. “ICE has completely changed that. It is either we move forward this way and I prosecute his case, or he is gone, and he is deported.”
The judge sided with prosecutors, ordering ICE agents to return Lopez to Milwaukee County Jail without bail. Lopez’s jury trial is scheduled for Dec. 8.
Kevin Lopez arrives for his Milwaukee court hearing on May 15. Lopez is accused of sexually assaulting a woman and 14-year-old girl after a small gathering at an east side restaurant he co-owned. He was detained by federal immigration agents on May 7, complicating his local case.
In the past, undocumented immigrants accused of crimes typically would not be deported until after they were convicted and served their sentences, according to Jeffrey Cohen, a Boston College law professor and former federal prosecutor.
Ideally, ICE should work with local law enforcement officials to ensure that defendants are not deported too soon, he said.
“If the defendant’s not present, there’s not gonna be a trial,” Cohen said. “So the victims are left without any justice.”
In April, 31-year-old undocumented immigrant Eduardo Flores-Ruiz was also arrested at the courthouse, where he was appearing on domestic violence charges stemming from a fight with roommates.
His arrest amassed national attention after federal prosecutors accused Milwaukee County Judge Hannah Dugan of directing Flores-Ruiz out of a side hallway to avoid the agents.
Following the arrest, federal prosecutors charged Flores-Ruiz with illegally re-entering the country. He entered a plea agreement on June 20, agreeing to be deported after he serves his federal sentence.
As a result, Flores-Ruiz could be sent out of the country before his domestic violence case concludes.
Attorney Julius Andriusis, who represents Flores-Ruiz’s alleged victims, said his clients prefer to see Flores-Ruiz face his state charges instead of being deported.
Milwaukee Chief Deputy District Attorney Jeffrey Altenburg said in an email that the office is working with impacted victims, the U.S. Attorney’s Office, and federal immigration officials on such cases to “try to achieve accountability and finality for victims and the greater Milwaukee community prior to deportation.”
Immigration arrests have included crime victims and witnesses, not just defendants
In at least one local case, federal immigration authorities have moved to deport a crime victim and key witness.
On May 22, 54-year-old Ramón Morales-Reyes was arrested by ICE agents after federal officials accused him of threatening to assassinate Trump in a letter.
Ramón Morales-Reyes
Local law enforcement officials quickly concluded Morales-Reyes had been framed by Demetric Scott, a 52-year-old man with a long criminal record including battery, disorderly conduct and sexual assault.
Morales-Reyes is the alleged victim and key witness in an armed robbery case against Scott. The trial is set for Oct. 27.
However, the Department of Homeland Security is still seeking to deport Morales-Reyes, which throws the upcoming trial into question, according to Kime Abduli, Morales-Reyes’ attorney.
“Ultimately, if there is no finding of guilt, then justice really wouldn’t be served,” Abduli said. “So it kind of defeats the purpose of having these proceedings if you don’t have access to the witnesses that are material.”
Immigration attorney Kime Abduli speaks at a press conference regarding the arrest of Ramón Morales Reyes by immigration agents on May 30, 2025 in Milwaukee.
Under former Presidents Barack Obama and Joe Biden, ICE explicitly ordered immigration agents not to deport crime witnesses and victims involved in pending cases.
But under Trump, ICE agents are no longer required to find out whether the person they are arresting is a crime victim or assisting in a criminal case, according to a memo issued in January.
Prosecutors in several parts of the country say the federal government’s change in tactics could deter victims and witnesses from reporting crimes.
Families want Martinez-Avila to be prosecuted first, not deported
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has focused special attention on Martinez-Avila’s case.
In a string of press releases and social media posts, the department called for her deportation and accused Dane County of being soft on “murderers and other heinous criminals.”
“Hallie Helgeson and Brady Heiling had their whole lives ahead of them — and they would still be alive today if it weren’t for Noelia Saray Martinez-Avila,” McLaughlin said in one news release.
The Helgeson and Heiling families declined to discuss how the case has become a flashpoint over immigration policies.
“We were given a life sentence without them,” Jen Heiling, Brady Heiling’s mother, told the Journal Sentinel. “Hallie and Brady were given a death sentence. Nothing about this is fair.”
Jen Heiling said the Department of Homeland Security has not been in touch with her. Joseph Helgeson, Hallie Helgeson’s father, said he has been in contact with the department.
Both families spoke in court Aug. 15 in favor of forcing Martinez-Avila to face charges in Dane County, rather than be deported.
Circuit Judge Dianne Schlipper sided with them, ordering ICE agents to return Martinez-Avila to the local jail and setting her bail at $5 million. Under Wisconsin law, she would have to pay the full amount to be released on supervision.
At the hearing, Martinez-Avila’s lawyer Anthony Delyea advocated for her to stay in ICE custody.
In an interview, Delyea said it would be easier for Martinez-Avila to be released on bond if she were under ICE detention. In that case, Martinez-Avila would only need to pay 10% of the bail amount.
Victor Hansen, a former military prosecutor and professor at the New England Law School, said the Trump administration’s narrow focus on deportations fails to take the rights of crime victims into account.
“On the one hand, there’s this claim of being tough on crime,” Hansen said. “But really, what’s happening is that cases aren’t getting prosecuted.”
“(ICE is) skipping all that and going straight for deportation,” he added.
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reporter Gina Castro and Molly Beck contributed to this story.
Eva Wen is a reporter with the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. She can be reached at qwen@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Prosecutors are worried ICE arrests will complicate victim justice
