‘Blindsided, betrayed’: Canadian woman with Trump-supporting American husband detained by immigration officials in U.S.

Cynthia Olivera is seen in this undated image. (Source: Francisco Olivera via ABC 10 News San Diego)

A Canadian woman whose American husband backed Donald Trump and his mass deportation policy was arrested by immigration authorities in the United States, a San Diego news outlet reported.

Cynthia Olivera, a 45-year-old mother of three, told ABC 10News’ Team 10 in a report published July 3 that she was handcuffed by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents at an immigration office in Chatsworth, Calif., last month while her husband waited outside. She said she was trying to finalize her green card application.

“The only crime I committed is to love this country and to work hard and to provide for my kids,” she said in a video interview with Team 10 from a Texas immigration detention centre.

U.S. officials said on X on Monday that ICE arrested Olivera on June 13 for illegally staying in the country.

Olivera is an “illegal alien from Canada, who was previously deported and chose to ignore our law and again illegally entered the country,” Homeland Security wrote in its post. It said she committed a “felony” for re-entering the country after being deported.

“She will remain in ICE custody pending removal to Canada,” it wrote.

She said she had previously received an expedited removal order in 1999 for living in the U.S. illegally but was still allowed to re-enter the country from Mexico not long after.

Olivera told Team 10 she worked in Los Angeles and paid taxes for about 25 years, even receiving a work permit last year when Joe Biden was president, until she was detained in June.

Her American husband Francisco Olivera said he and Cynthia supported Trump’s mass deportation program for criminals. But her husband, who voted for Trump, said he now regrets it.

“We feel totally blindsided, betrayed,” he told the news outlet.

In the wake of her detention, Team 10 said it found no criminal charges under her name in California and federal court databases.

Team 10 said ICE didn’t respond to its requests for comment and for more information about Cynthia’s case.

Cynthia said she plans to live with her cousin in Mississauga, Ont., and wants the Canadian government to help her get on a flight to Toronto.

According to Team 10, Global Affairs Canada said in a statement that it can’t intervene in her case.

With files from ABC 10News San Diego Team 10 Investigative Reporter Austin Grabish