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. Bolivar was arrested by Border Patrol agents at McAllen International Airport on Saturday, preparing to board a flight to join her husband for their scheduled asylum interview.
Bolivar, 33, was the second Venezuelan physician arrested in the area within a week. On April 6, Dr. Ezequiel Veliz was detained at a checkpoint in South Texas. After about ten days, he was released on an $8,000 bond.
Bolivar worked in the emergency room of a hospital in McAllen, starting her residency in June 2025. Her journey to the U.S. began in 2016 with a tourist visa, after which she was included in her husband’s asylum application.
Faria expressed concern over his wife's situation, stating, We have never done anything outside the law. We followed all steps to obtain permanent residency. However, the Department of Homeland Security noted Bolivar was arrested for overstaying her visa since 2017.
Following a recent enforcement surge by Customs and Border Protection, Faria remarked on the troubling trend where individuals with pending applications face detainment.
The couple's daughter was also apprehended during the incident but was released to her grandfather 19 hours later. Faria continues to navigate this complex immigration system as he awaits news about his wife and their family's future.
Associated Press writer Valerie Gonzalez contributed to this report.
