A California man who once backed Donald Trump’s hardline immigration policies is now speaking out after watching those same policies turn his family’s life upside down.
Francisco Olvera, a U.S. citizen, is now filled with regret after his wife, Cynthia Olivera, was detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) during what was supposed to be her green card interview in Chatsworth, California.
Cynthia, 45, showed up early for the June 13 interview, dressed professionally and hopeful for what was meant to be a life-changing moment. But things took a shocking turn. A security guard called her name, and shortly after she answered questions from an officer, ICE agents walked in. The immigration officer never returned. Instead, she was handcuffed and detained.
Originally from Toronto, Cynthia said her family brought her to the U.S. when she was just 10 years old. In 1999, she was hit with an expedited removal order at the Buffalo border for being in the country without legal status. She later re-entered the U.S. through San Diego and spent the next 25 years working, raising three U.S. citizen children, and trying to live the American dream.
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She recently obtained a work permit under the Biden administration, but that didn’t shield her from removal. ICE agents transferred her to an El Paso detention center, where she’s been held for over 20 days. She’s since signed paperwork to expedite her removal to Canada—but ICE has yet to arrange her departure.
Francisco, who voted for Donald Trump and supported Trump’s call to deport undocumented immigrants with criminal records, now says he feels betrayed. “We feel totally blindsided,” he said. “I want my vote back.”
Cynthia has no criminal history, and her only “crime,” she says, was coming to the country she now calls home as a child. She’s pleading for help from the Canadian government and has offered to pay for her own deportation flight. Her husband, equally desperate, says he’s ready to cover all travel costs to end her detention, which taxpayers are currently footing at about $152 a day.
Despite multiple inquiries from media, ICE has not provided updates on her case. Canadian officials acknowledged her detention but say they can’t interfere with U.S. immigration enforcement.
Cynthia hopes to return to Canada and stay with a cousin in Mississauga while rebuilding her life—without her husband and children who remain in the U.S.
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