Highlights
- Brenda Liliana Rivera-Estrada, 30, was transferred to ICE custody April 16 after her daughter died in an I-17 rollover on April 12.
- Rivera-Estrada entered the U.S. through Nogales 17 years ago with authorization to stay only 30 days, according to ICE.
- She faces one count of manslaughter and four counts of child abuse; ICE will hold her until her immigration case is resolved.
- ICE's Criminal Alien Program flagged Rivera-Estrada during routine intake screening at Maricopa County's jail.
ICE has taken custody of a Phoenix woman charged with manslaughter after her 9-year-old daughter was killed in a rollover crash on northbound Interstate 17 last month, federal officials announced Monday.
Brenda Liliana Rivera-Estrada, 30, is a Mexican citizen who entered the United States through Nogales 17 years ago with authorization to remain for up to 30 days, according to ICE. She was driving with four children as passengers when her vehicle rolled over near Peoria Avenue on the morning of April 12, according to the Arizona Department of Public Safety. A 9-year-old girl who was sharing a seat belt with a sibling was ejected during the single-vehicle collision and pronounced dead at the scene. Rivera-Estrada's three other children, an 11-year-old boy, a 3-year-old boy and a 1-year-old girl, were treated for injuries at a hospital and released.
Prosecutors said Rivera-Estrada was seen driving erratically before the rollover and that troopers smelled marijuana coming from her vehicle afterward. She was booked into Maricopa County's Intake, Transfer and Release jail on manslaughter and child-abuse charges before ICE transferred her to federal custody on April 16.
How did ICE become involved?
ICE maintains a presence at the Maricopa County jail and interviews everyone processed there to determine immigration status as part of its Criminal Alien Program. That screening flagged Rivera-Estrada four days after the crash. Alejandro Almeida, deputy field office director for ERO Phoenix, said in a news release that the case "underscores the importance of the Criminal Alien Program and highlights the public safety efforts undertaken by officers with Enforcement and Removal Operations."
Almeida said Rivera-Estrada's immigration fate "now rests with the Department of Justice's Executive Office for Immigration Review, and any available administrative or judicial appellate recourse, which will determine her eligibility to remain in the United States." ICE said it will hold her until her immigration case is completed.
The case was also reported by ICE's ERO Phoenix office and Fox News. Her criminal case on the manslaughter and child-abuse charges remains pending in Maricopa County.
Around the web
Public discussion (links to original posts):
- Reddit · r/scottsdale, u/UAPD_Official (98 upvotes · 8 comments)
Sources
Every factual claim in this article traces to one of the sources below. See how we work for the editorial process.
- ktar.com retrieved 19/05/2026 18:22
Authored by The Scottsdale Signal. Drafted by AI from primary-source material under our beat-specific editorial guides; reviewed by humans before publish under our five-gate process. Sources retrieved at 19/05/2026 18:22. Every claim traces to a source.
