A Santa Maria man is fighting to get his wife, Dr. Rubeliz Bolivar Barrios, released from a Texas detention center after she and their daughter were detained by federal agents last Saturday.
Bolivar Barrios remained in the El Valle Detention Facility as of Friday, Noozhawk confirmed through the U.S. Immigration Customs and Enforcement detainee locator.
Her 5-year-old daughter, Milena, who is a U.S. citizen, was released and united with her father, Milenko Faria Virla, in Santa Maria on Monday.
The Venezuelan-born mother had moved with Milena to Texas about a year ago to complete her medical residency at South Texas Health System GME Consortium’s Emergency Medicine Residency Program.
Bolivar Barrios and Milena were detained while attempting to board a flight from McAllen International Airport to the Santa Barbara Airport. They were heading to California to reunite with Faria Virla before his asylum interview on Thursday.
Bolivar Barrios and Milena never made it onto their flight.
The pair were stopped, questioned and then detained at the Texas airport by U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents, Faria Virla said.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection did not immediately respond to Noozhawk’s request for comment.
A spokesperson said in a statement given to KEYT that Bolivar Barrios had overstayed her visa since 2017. The statement also said parents are asked if they want to be removed from the country with their children or if they want their children placed with another designated person.
Faria Virla and Bolivar Barrios left Venezuela in 2015 and 2016, respectively. They moved to Santa Maria in 2017.
Faria Virla has a pending asylum case, and the couple have work permits to work in the country, he said. Their daughter was born in the United States.
They are also in the process of trying to obtain green card visas — known as an EB-3 visa — through Faria Virla’s job at a Santa Maria medical device manufacturer.
Their lawyer confirmed to Noozhawk that Bolivar Barrios has a pending asylum petition as her husband’s dependent and a pending employment-based adjustment of status petition.
Faria Virla said he learned about the detainment through text messages while his wife was trying to prove her and her daughter’s legal status to the agents.
“I was terrified because of all the stories I have seen online and on the news,” he said. “I didn’t know what I was going to do.”
She provided Milena’s birth certificate to the agents after they reportedly did not believe she was a U.S. citizen, Faria Virla relayed.
“That is when the agents start to treat her better,” he said.
Faria Virla said Bolivar Barrios also showed the agents her work permit, which doesn’t expire until 2030, he said.
“The agent said all Venezuelan documents are invalid,” Faria Virla said.
The couple’s lawyer, Tanya Ahlman, said Bolivar Barrios had Temporary Protected Status until November 2025, when the Trump administration removed Venezuela’s TPS designation.
That designation allows eligible citizens from other countries to live and work in the United States because of a country’s ongoing armed conflict, environmental disaster, or other extraordinary and temporary conditions, according to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.
Ahlman, a partner at Santa Barbara practice Kingston, Martinez & Hogan LLP, said President Donald Trump’s administration has removed TPS protections for most countries, “several of which have ongoing litigation challenging the termination.”
Ahlman said that when an asylum application is in “valid status,” the applicant is permitted to remain in the country until U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services decides regarding the application.
“Despite following the correct processes and procedures, she was detained attempting to fly to see her husband for his asylum interview,” she said in an email to Noozhawk.
Faria Virla said Milena left the detention center 19 hours later under the supervision of her grandfather, Faria Virla’s father. He said she was traumatized, thinking her mom was imprisoned.
Faria Virla’s father flew with Milena to Santa Barbara with the help of a nonprofit organization, Each Step Home.
As they approached U.S. Customs and Border Protection before their flight, she was scared she would be detained again, according to Faria Virla.
“She was squeezing my dad’s hand so hard,” Faria Virla said.
Faria Virla said his wife’s work colleagues and community have been critical in helping him figure out what to do by giving him names of organizations and people to contact.
“That is when I finally felt like I wasn’t alone,” he said.
Pauline Wiltz, president of the Emergency Medicine Residents’ Association, also wrote a letter in support of Bolivar Barrios to Texas Sens. John Cornyn and Ted Cruz and Texas Congresswoman Monica De La Cruz.
Wiltz said Bolivar Barrios is “one of these dedicated professionals” and confirmed that she is lawfully in the country.
“Her work as a resident physician places her at the heart of our health care system, where she serves vulnerable populations in the Rio Grande Valley and responds to urgent medical crises with skill and compassion,” she said in the letter.
She added: “Her continued detention, despite her lawful status, raises serious questions and warrants prompt review. Her detainment interrupts not only her training but also the essential care she provides.”
Faria Virla completed his asylum interview on Thursday by himself after explaining his family’s situation. He does not yet know about the outcome of that interview.
Their Santa Barbara lawyer is working to secure Bolivar Barrios’ release through congressional representatives. The lawyer is also preparing a motion for bond.
For now, Faria Virla and Milena wait for his wife’s daily calls from the detention facility. Saturday will mark a week since his family was first detained.
“It’s hard. The waits are difficult,” he said, “but I have confidence that she will soon be released.”
