'I want my vote back' says Trump supporter after Canadian wife detained over immigration status

The husband of a Canadian national residing in the United States (U.S.) had voted for U.S. President Donald Trump last year, but is left feeling betrayed after federal agents detained his wife over her immigration status.

California news station KGTV reported that on Jun. 13, the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrested 45-year-old Cynthia Olivera at her interview for a green card – the informal name for legal permanent residency in the U.S.

“Totally blindsided”

Since Trump took office in January, he has spearheaded an immigration crackdown, claiming that it would primarily target dangerous criminals.

However, there is growing criticism that non-criminals are also being indiscriminately deported, with ABC News reporting that 34 per cent of those arrested in the first five months of Trump’s administration had pending charges.

Close to a quarter had no criminal history at all.

Yet, despite his wife’s illegal status in the U.S., her husband, Francisco Olivera, told KGTV that he did not believe she would be targeted.

“We feel totally blindsided,” said Francisco, a U.S. citizen. “I want my vote back.”

What happened

In a tearful video interview with the new station, Cynthia explained that the arrest happened at the immigration office in Chatsworth, California.

After entering the building, a security guard randomly asked if she was Cynthia, to which she responded with “'Yeah.' And he said, 'Okay.' And then that was it".

Francisco had been accompanying her. He waited outside as she answered questions from an immigration officer in an interview room.

“After I gave my declaration, my statement, the ICE agents came in. The interviewer never came back," she said, adding that she was subsequently handcuffed.

Lived in the U.S. since she was 10

Cynthia told KGTV that she was born in Canada and was just 10 when her parents brought her to the U.S. from Toronto.

She recounted that in 1999, when she was 19 years old, immigration officers at a border crossing between the U.S. and Canada issued her an expedited removal order after determining her illegal status in the U.S.

However, she managed to reenter the U.S. within a few months by driving to San Diego from Mexico. According to her, immigration officers had “just waved (her) in” without even asking for her citizenship.

Following her return, she spent the next 25 years in Los Angeles and was later granted a work permit under the Biden administration in 2024, allowing her to work legally in the country.

“The U.S. is my country. That's where I met my husband. That's where I went to high school, junior high, elementary. That’s where I had my kids,” she said.

“The only crime I committed is to love this country and to work hard and to provide for my kids.”

KGTV reported that it could not find any criminal charges under her name in the California and federal court databases.

“Illegal aliens”

Following her detention, an assistant secretary from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security told Newsweek that Cynthia was “previously deported and chose to ignore (U.S.) law and again illegally entered the country.”

She further stated that the U.S. offers all “illegal aliens” US$1,000 (SG$1,278) and a free flight if they self-deport.

“We encourage every person here illegally to take advantage of this offer and reserve the chance to come back to the U.S., the right legal way to live the American dream. If not, you will be arrested and deported without a chance to return."

“Nothing expeditious about this”

Still in ICE custody pending her deportation to Canada, Cynthia has expressed her desperation for the Canadian government to intervene and get her on a flight out of the U.S., waiving her right to a bond or asylum hearing.

“I've gone to four different facilities, and every single facility I've gone to, I've told them I’ll pay for my own flight. I’ll pay for it," she said.

Francisco similarly remarked about the detention process. “There's nothing expeditious about this,” he said.

Meanwhile, Canada has reflected that it is aware of Cynthia’s detention in the U.S., but said that “every country or territory decides who can enter or exit through its borders”.

“The Government of Canada cannot intervene on behalf of Canadian citizens with regard to the entry and exit requirements of another country," it added.

One of many

Cynthia’s story mirrors many others, reflecting the effects Trump’s policies have had on families with members of mixed immigration status.

CNN reported that in May, the wife of a U.S. Marine veteran was detained even though her daughter still required breastfeeding.

The woman, who was in the process of applying for her green card, had arrived in the U.S. from Mexico over a decade ago. She had been unaware that she received a deportation order after missing an immigration hearing, as the notification for the hearing was sent to her estranged mother.

In another case, the parents of three U.S. citizens who spent nearly four decades building a life in the U.S. were deported back to Colombia after spending three weeks in federal custody.

As they were issued a voluntary departure order in 2000, they had anticipated leaving the U.S. eventually. Nevertheless, they had not expected to be apprehended this way.

“We didn’t expect that they would be apprehended and held in custody,” the couple’s immigration attorney, Monica Crooms, told CNN.

“And again, it’s not really unique to them anymore,” she added. “It’s happening across the country.”

Top images via U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement & Donald J. Trump/Facebook