California woman battling cancer shares how ICE detained her family

EL MONTE, Calif. (NBC, KYMA/KECY) - A California woman is sharing her story after ICE detained her mother and brother as she is battling cancer.

Xitlali has a type of bone cancer that has stopped her from walking and being able to take care of herself.

"Sarcoma, sarcoma...I have a type of bone cancer. I have found out last year when I had felt on my knee and when I started growing and felt I started feeling pain. I didn't think anything of it until I went to the to the to a doctor, and they told me, like, you need to go see a specialist. It might be cancer. And I went to a specialist, I had MRIs done and everything, and they told me it was cancer."

Xitlali, battling bone cancer

Her mother, Yolanda, was her main caretaker and her brother, Johnathan, was helping to pay the bills.

"She takes me to all of my appointments. she's there for me when I need her...She never left my side when I started my chemo and since now and she just she helps me with everything right now. She helps me shower. She cooks for me. She's the one who makes my meals, just everything. And my brother, he's the one who, since my mom's not working around she's fully taking care of me. He's the one who financially takes care of us, the house that I'm in, the food that we eat, and everything."

Xitlali, battling bone cancer

Now, as ICE still has her family in custody, she faces an unsure future.

"This all has made me very depressed and anxious and helpless and very, very sad and scared," Xitlali said. "I hope that they let [her] out as soon as possible because without her, I don't know how we get treatments. I feel like I'm not going to be able to walk through with them without her. I need her."

Yolanda was handcuffed by ICE agents outside her home in El Monte, not understanding why she was being taken away.

"My mother was very scared and confused. The agents mentioned they had a warrant for her arrest, but never showed the warrant," Xitlali shared.

One of her four children demanded the detention order from the agents who ignored the request.

Moments later, the same thing happened with Johnathan.

"My brother had came out the house to see why my mom was arguing with the police, the cops, the ICE people, the agents, then ambushed my brother and cuffed him before asking who he was. They then said he was under arrest. I did not get a chance to say goodbye to any of them," Xitlali expressed.

KNBC's sister network Telemundo reached out to ICE for comment on the situation, but did not hear back.