BOSTON — After nearly 20 years of living in East Boston under a deportation order, an illegal immigrant woman finally ran out of luck.

On Thursday afternoon, Marta Yolanda Portillo Vazquez, 58, walked into ICE’s Revere office for what was supposed to be a routine fingerprinting appointment. Instead, she walked straight into handcuffs. By nightfall she was shipped off to Burlington’s federal detention center — the one locals call the “jail by the mall.”

For years, the government looked the other way as the El Salvador native ignored a 2006 deportation order. She raised three kids, built a life, and assumed Boston’s “safe city” politics would keep her shielded forever. But ICE finally lowered the boom.

Her lawyer raced to federal court Friday morning, blasting the arrest as “unconstitutional” and accusing ICE of betraying her “good faith” efforts to apply for a trafficking-related visa. In filings, attorney Todd Pomerlau claimed she was “disappeared” at her appointment and that her rights were trampled in the process.

Judge Myong Joun issued a last-minute order barring ICE from moving her out of Massachusetts until Tuesday, giving the courts a chance to weigh her plea. But for now, Portillo Vazquez remains in custody.

The filings reveal she filed for a special “T visa” in March, claiming she was trafficked into the United States and forced into servitude decades ago. That status, if granted, could shield her from deportation. But the government has yet to rule — and ICE is under no obligation to pause enforcement.

For nearly two decades, Boston politicians preached that the city was a haven for undocumented immigrants. This week’s arrest is proof that, sanctuary or not, the law can still catch up — even in Eastie.

Whether the judge cuts her loose next week or she’s finally shipped back to El Salvador, one thing is certain: the free ride that began in 2006 just came to a screeching halt.