A Wisconsin man who voted for President Donald Trump within the 2024 presidential election is now expressing alarm after his Peruvian spouse was detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement final month.
Bradley Bartell and Camila Muñoz had been on their means house to Wisconsin from their honeymoon in Puerto Rico final month when immigration officers approached them at Luis Muñoz Marín Worldwide Airport in San Juan, David Rozas, an immigration lawyer representing Muñoz, advised HuffPost on Wednesday.
Muñoz had overstayed her J-1 trade customer visa, and her immigration standing is pending following her marriage to Bartell, a United States citizen, Rozas mentioned.
The lawyer mentioned the couple didn’t have their paperwork for the adjustment of Muñoz’s standing with them on the airport, prompting immigration officers to detain her.
She was taken to a Miami detention heart earlier than being transported to an ICE facility in Louisiana, Rozas mentioned.
“As of proper now, we have now not been capable of get a courtroom date for her bond. We’re ready for her to be put within the system. That’s what’s happening,” Rozas mentioned.
Bartell told USA Today in a narrative revealed Sunday that he was fearful about his spouse.
“Emotionally, I’m involved for her,” he mentioned. “It may well’t be straightforward being trapped in a room with 100 different individuals. They don’t have something in there. It’s simply so wasteful.”
Bradley Bartell / GoFundMe
Muñoz’s detention comes because the Trump administration continues its crackdown on immigrants of any status. Regardless of the president and his allies saying they are going to focus on “violent criminals,” individuals with no prison historical past have also been detained by ICE.
Rozas confirmed to HuffPost that Muñoz doesn’t have a prison file.
Bartell advised USA As we speak that he doesn’t see his spouse as one of many “illegals” Trump promised to deport.
He added that his spouse initially got here to the U.S. on a authorized visa, and he had believed the Trump administration would solely give attention to individuals who had crossed the border unlawfully.
“I knew they had been cracking down. I assume I didn’t know the way it was happening,” Bartell mentioned.
Regardless of all that’s occurred, Bartell told Newsweek he doesn’t remorse casting a poll for Trump.
“I don’t remorse the vote,” he mentioned.
He went on to name for a reform of ICE and expressed hope that Trump will enhance the immigration system.
“He [Trump] didn’t create the system, however he does have a chance to enhance it,” Bartell mentioned. “Hopefully, all this consideration will convey to gentle how damaged it’s.”
