A Venezuelan man pleaded his case to asylum officials on Thursday in an interview that his wife, a well-known doctor in South Texas, planned to attend until she was detained at the airport with the couple’s 5-year-old daughter.
Milenko Faria was interviewed at the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services offices near Los Angeles, while his wife, Dr. Rubeliz Bolivar, entered her sixth day in immigration custody in Texas and was unable to attend the appointment they had been waiting for for more than 10 years.
Bolivar, who worked as a doctor in an area federally designated as medically underserved, was arrested by Border Patrol agents at McAllen International Airport on Saturday. She was with their American-born daughter, preparing to board a flight to join her husband and attend their asylum interview together.
The arrests are part of President Donald Trump’s hardline immigration policies. Following an enforcement surge in Minnesota in January, in which two U.S. citizens died, the Department of Homeland Security has focused on less visible arrests.
Bolívar worked in the emergency room of a hospital in McAllen, city of about 150,000 in the Rio Grande Valley near the Mexican border, starting in June 2025, when she was accepted into her medical residency program.
“She was always focused on the community, and when she was accepted, it was an immense joy,” Faria, 36, said in a telephone interview with The Associated Press. “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.”
Before her authorized period of stay expired, she was included in the asylum application filed by her husband, he said. Both are also seeking a green card through an application for skilled workers, processed by Faria’s employer.
The couple was beneficiary of Temporary Protected Status for Venezuela that shielded more than 600,000 Venezuelans from deportation. Trump terminated the protections for Venezuela, Haiti, Syria, Afghanistan, Nicaragua and other countries, a decision that has been challenged in federal court.
The Department of Homeland Security said that Bolivar was arrested because she was in the country illegally.
“She has overstayed her visa since 2017, nearly a decade, and had no legal status,” said DHS spokeswoman Lauren Bis.
Jodi Goodwin, an immigration attorney in South Texas, noted that around September or October 2025, she observed a change in policy regarding travel of individuals with pending applications before USCIS.
Faria and Bolivar lived together in Santa Maria, California, until she moved to Texas in the summer of 2025 for her medical residency. He said he traveled every two months to visit his wife and daughter. The day of her arrest was the first time Bolívar had traveled since moving to Texas.
Bolivar was arrested by Customs and Border Protection officers before passing through transportation security screening, where she was asked to show her identification. She showed her driver’s license and a work authorization valid until 2030. She told them that she was adjusting status to a green card and was traveling to California for an asylum interview but the officer detained her after asking for her nationality and demanding proof.
Their 5-year-old daughter, a U.S. citizen, was also arrested and handed over to her grandfather 19 hours later. The girl is currently in California with her father.
The doctor was transferred to ICE custody on Sunday and is being held at El Valle Detention Facility in Texas. She has asked several times why she was detained but has not received any response yet.
Meanwhile, Ezequiel Veliz, another Venezuelan physician detained under similar circumstances, is awaiting a visa while his work is on hold due to the halted immigration protections. He was waiting for a visa at the time of his detention. This story illustrates the painful realities faced by families entangled in unforeseen immigration challenges.
