Cynthia Olivera, a 45-year-old mother of three US-born children, thus joined a growing list of examples contradicting the Trump administration’s claims that the
immigration crackdown it has spearheaded since the president’s return to the Oval Office in January has prioritized targeting dangerous criminals.
In 2024, toward the end of his presidency, Joe Biden’s administration granted her a permit allowing her to work legally in the US. She had also been navigating the process to obtain legal permanent US residency – colloquially referred to as a green card – for years.
They learned she would in fact be affected by her immigration status when she went for a green card interview in Chatsworth, California, on 13 June. She was detained there by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) agents, according to a
change.org petition pleading for compassion on behalf of Cynthia.
Olivera has since been transferred to an Ice detention center in El Paso, Texas, to await being deported.
[Sending the Canadian to El Paso? Well, at least it's not South Sudan (yet).]
As she fought back tears, Olivera said to KGTV: “The only crime I committed is to love this country and to work hard and to provide for my kids.”
[Well, that and illegally reentering the country 25 years ago after being deported the first time.]
[Her husband] told KGTV that
Trump’s promises to deport criminals en masse appealed to both him and Cynthia.
