Venezuelan Doctor Detained by ICE Misses Crucial Asylum Interview with Husband
A Venezuelan man attended a critical asylum interview in Southern California on Thursday without his wife, a respected doctor, who was detained by immigration authorities at a Texas airport just days prior. Milenko Faria arrived at the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services offices near Los Angeles for the appointment, while his spouse, Dr. Rubeliz Bolivar, remained in immigration custody in Texas, unable to participate in the long-awaited proceedings they had anticipated for over a decade.
Arrest at McAllen International Airport
Dr. Bolivar, 33, was arrested by Border Patrol agents at McAllen International Airport on Saturday while preparing to board a flight with the couple's 5-year-old daughter, an American citizen. She intended to join her husband in California for their asylum interview. Bolivar worked as a physician in an emergency room in McAllen, a city of approximately 150,000 in the Rio Grande Valley near the Mexican border, after beginning her medical residency program in June 2025.
"She was always focused on the community, and when she was accepted, it was an immense joy," said Faria, 36, in a telephone interview. "We have never done anything outside the law. We have done everything by following the steps in accordance with the law to obtain permanent residency."
Immigration Status and Policy Context
Bolivar entered the United States on a tourist visa in 2016 after graduating from medical school in Venezuela. Before her authorized stay expired, she was included in her husband's asylum application. The couple also sought a green card through a skilled worker application processed by Faria's employer, a California company where he has worked as an information systems technician since 2019.
They previously benefited from Temporary Protected Status for Venezuela, which shielded over 600,000 Venezuelans from deportation. However, President Donald Trump terminated these protections for Venezuela, Haiti, Syria, Afghanistan, Nicaragua, and other countries, a decision currently challenged in federal court. The Department of Homeland Security stated Bolivar was arrested because she was in the country illegally, having overstayed her visa since 2017.
"She has overstayed her visa since 2017, nearly a decade, and had no legal status," said DHS spokeswoman Lauren Bis.
Pattern of Arrests and Legal Observations
Bolivar is the second Venezuelan physician arrested in the area within a week. On April 6, Dr. Ezequiel Veliz was detained by Border Patrol agents at a checkpoint in South Texas and was ordered released by an immigration judge on Wednesday. These arrests align with Trump's hardline immigration policies, which have shifted focus to less visible enforcement actions following a surge in Minnesota in January that resulted in two U.S. citizen deaths.
Immigration attorney Jodi Goodwin noted a policy change around September or October 2025 regarding travel for individuals with pending USCIS applications. "It just became a very apparent trend where anyone that had some kind of application pending with USCIS, whether it was an adjustment of status or asylum, anything like that, they were going to be arrested," Goodwin explained.
Details of the Detention
Bolivar was detained by Customs and Border Protection officers before passing through security screening, where she presented her driver's license with a "Real ID" endorsement and a work authorization valid until 2030. She informed officers she was adjusting her status to a green card and traveling to California for the asylum interview, but was detained after being asked for her nationality and proof of legal permanent residency.
Faria received text messages from his wife during the arrest. Their daughter was also arrested and handed over to her grandfather 19 hours later; she is now in California with her father. Bolivar was transferred to ICE custody on Sunday and is held at El Valle Detention Facility in Texas, where she has repeatedly asked why she was detained without receiving a response.
Background and Community Impact
The couple lived together in Santa Maria, California, until Bolivar moved to Texas in summer 2025 for her residency. Faria visited them every two months. The arrest occurred during Bolivar's first trip since relocating to Texas, underscoring the sudden disruption to their lives and legal processes. Her work in a federally designated medically underserved area highlights the broader implications of such enforcement actions on healthcare access.
This case illustrates the complexities and human costs of U.S. immigration policies, particularly for families navigating asylum and residency applications amid shifting enforcement priorities.
