By Susana Erazo and Krecyte Villarreal, CNN in Spanish
Isabel Urdaneta Hernández and her fiancé, Manuel Alejandro López, were returning to their home in Dallas, Texas, after buying the long-awaited wedding dress for their wedding. For Isabel, happiness was double: not only was she going to marry the love of her life, but they are also expecting their first daughter: she is in her fourth month of pregnancy. Everything was happiness, until they ran into an immigration checkpoint.
“They arrived, they asked for their documents and when they checked them they told them: ‘I’m sorry, but you are detained.’ At that moment their life changed completely,” Alejandra Urdaneta, Isabel’s cousin, told CNN.
Urdaneta points out that, unlike previous occasions, this time the immigration control was different for her cousin. After presenting their documents, Border Patrol agents informed them that they would be arrested.
Both were taken to a detention center in McAllen. Isabel was later transferred to El Valle, an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility, while Manuel remained held there, according to Alejandra.
US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) told CNN that Isabel and Manuel had entered the United States legally, but violated the terms of their respective visas or authorized periods of stay.
The couple, both Venezuelan immigrants and with pending asylum cases, remain detained waiting for their relatives to achieve their release on bail. According to Alejandra, Isabel and Manuel plan to get married and are expecting their first daughter. Days before the arrest, they held a gender reveal party without imagining that their plans would change drastically.
Isabel and Manuel arrived in the United States in 2017 and 2021, respectively. The couple has no criminal record, just some traffic violations from previous years. Alejandra describes them as “hardworking, honest and decent.” After years of effort, they managed to open a bakery in Texas, a business they started in Florida and which grew with a focus on traditional baking. Urdaneta highlights that both have forged their path in the country: Isabel is a pastry chef and Manuel has a stable job.
At the time of arrest the couple presented their work permits and valid driver’s licenses. Manuel informed the agents that Isabel was four months pregnant, but both were detained.
According to ICE regulations in force since 2021, the agency has restrictions on detaining or keeping in custody pregnant people, in the first year after giving birth or breastfeeding for administrative immigration violations. The rule only allows arrests in cases required by law or “exceptional” situations, such as risks to national security or imminent danger to others, and require approval from senior officials.
When asked by CNN via email, CBP, which like ICE, is part of the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS), assured that it does not have an official policy that restricts or limits the custody and detention of pregnant people. He added that the agency ensures that all people in custody receive appropriate treatment.
According to recent conversations between Alejandra and her cousin, Isabel presents emotional and physical discomfort from being detained while pregnant. “At some point I felt like they were treating me as if I were a criminal and I’m not,” Isabel told her with fear.
She says that Isabel receives medical care at the detention center but that the medical staff “can be a little rough in their treatment.” She also says that her concern is the possible impact on her cousin’s health of carrying a pregnancy while in detention.
As it is her first pregnancy, fears intensify and the family’s priority is to achieve her release so that the pregnancy can continue safely.
The arrest of Isabel and Manuel has been a blow for the family, who is experiencing the uncertainty of the immigration process with anguish. “Isabel is very afraid, she is desperate, she sees the deportations every day and we are worried about her physical and mental state,” said Alejandra.
Family, friends and clients of the bakery raise funds to cover legal expenses and facilitate obtaining bail. “She has a court date on December 5. What we want is for her to get out as soon as possible,” said Alejandra, who hopes that both can continue their process in freedom and in a safe environment for the family.
The-CNN-Wire
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