Jarrod Zinn
SANTA MARIA, Calif. (KEYT) – A Santa Maria man has been reunited with his five-year-old daughter who was held in an ICE detention facility for 20 hours with her mom.
His wife remains in holding in Texas.
Milenko Faria moved to Santa Maria in 2017 after fleeing Venezuela, and his asylum case is pending after nearly a decade.
“Nothing is easy in Venezuela,” says Milenko Faria, who lives in Santa Maria. “So, for example, to get a passport it takes months, years. And also, if your opinion is very high against the government, they cancel your passport.”
He and his wife Dr. Rubeliz Bolivar, another Venezuelan, had their 5-year-old daughter in Santa Maria, and she is a U.S. citizen.
“She was born in Santa Maria,” says Faria. “Yeah. She was born in Marian hospital.”
An attorney for Dr. Bolivar says she has been lawfully in the u.s. under a work visa, and has her own pending asylum case during her residency in an underserved community in southern Texas.
“She has started, like, as a medical assistant, you know, and then she was I am an interpreter at the hospital,” says Faria. “She was a Spanish interpreter.”
Dr. Bolivar had their five year old daughter with her at a Texas airport, and they were about to board a flight back to Santa Maria.
They were going to be present in support for Milenko’s upcoming asylum hearing in Tustin.
“At the airport, she was question by the CBP,” says Faria.
Dr. Bolivar tried to show she had a right to be in the US, but agents disagreed.
“She shows them the work permit,” says Faria. “We have our work permit current until—hers is until 2030. Mine is until 2029. And they are like, “oh, this is from Venezuela. These are like—Venezuelan documents are not valid.” Which is not true.”
A relative traveled from Florida to Texas to bring the child back to Santa Maria.
“My daughter, she was detained for 19 hours because—since four in the morning until, like, past 9:00 pm, she was detained,” says Faria. “She was scared, you know. And that’s not good, that. She should be like just thinking, ‘What am I going to play with?’ You know?”
Customs and Border Protection provided your Newschannel with the following statement.
“On April 11, 2026, Rubeliz Bolivar was taken into custody at McAllen Airport. She has overstayed her visa since 2017, nearly a decade, and had no legal status. She chose to place her child in the care of a relative in the area.
CBP does not separate families or deport U.S. citizens. Parents are asked if they want to be removed with their children or if they would like CBP will place the children with a safe person the parent designates. This is consistent with past administration’s immigration enforcement.
Parents, who are here illegally, can take control of their departure with the CBP Home App. The United States is offering aliens illegal aliens $2,600 and a free flight to self-deport now. 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 American dream. If not, you will be arrested and deported without a chance to return.”
Milenko said that while he doesn’t want to say too much too soon, there does seem to be a light at the end of the tunnel. And his wife says she is not being mistreated in any way.
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