In a strange political paradox, a family from Southern California who supported Donald Trump‘s rigid immigration laws is now in shock. This developed as U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrested their mother and wife, a 45-year-old Canadian undocumented immigrant, while on what was expected to be an average green card interview.
Cynthia Olivera was arrested on June 13 in Chatsworth, California.
She came to the United States from Toronto when she was 10 years old and has now spent more than 20 years living, working, and raising a family in Los Angeles. The appointment she received for officially confirming her U.S. residency (a process she had been dealing with for years) was when the ICE sting happened.
Olivera is now waiting to be sent to Canada in a detention facility in El Paso, Texas.
“I want my vote back,” her husband, Francisco Olivera, a proud Donald Trump supporter and U.S. citizen, told KGTV. More specifically, taking into account that the couple had previously believed Trump’s immigration crackdown had been directed at “violent criminals” as opposed to working mothers, the situation has made people angry and disgusted.
Donald Trump’s Deportation Policies Just Got Personal for His Own
Donald Trump confirmed his commitment to greater mass deportations during the 2024 campaign, saying that the primary focus would be on criminals with violent histories and gang members.
The administration’s description of a “criminal,” is still far more expansive and often targets long-term undocumented residents with no criminal history, as immigration advocates have repeatedly reminded. Cynthia Olivera is now a living example.
Olivera was taken into custody while going after the very legal procedure that many Republicans support: getting permanent residency through marriage, despite the White House’s claims about such scenarios, which it clearly isn’t respecting anymore.
“The U.S. is my country. That’s where I met my husband. That’s where I went to high school, junior high, elementary. That’s where I had my kids,” Cynthia Olivera, 45, said in a tearful interview from an immigration detention center in El Paso, Texas.
https://t.co/IHcKAo8UX4— ABC 10News San Diego (@10News) July 4, 2025
She has no criminal record at all, based on court documents.
Olivera actually filed taxes, was given a valid work permit by Joe Biden in 2024, and had also made it back to the United States many years ago after an earlier deportation drama.
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But ICE laid out her case in an entirely separate manner. A spokesperson called her “an illegal alien from Canada” who was previously deported once and “chose to ignore our law” by returning to the country, a felony offense, based on a statement gathered by Newsweek. She is going to remain in custody until she can be released, the agency confirmed.
This Family Thought ICE Wouldn’t Go After Them
The lived experience of the Olivera family unveils an even deeper clash among Trump-supporting immigrant households. Many such households work under the misconception that their good behavior, contributions, and compliance will help safeguard them from law enforcement actions.
Yet, Cynthia’s story shows how ICE’s reach can be insensitive under Donald Trump 2.0.
Speaking from the El Paso detention center, Cynthia was more direct: “The only crime I committed is to love this country and to work hard and to provide for my kids.” Her husband added tearfully: “At this moment, [we are] pretty much hopeless.”
Cynthia Olivera, born in Mississauga, moved to LA when young. She married an American. In 1999 she returned to bury her mom. She was initially denied re-entry because she planned to give birth in the US. She applied for US citizenship and ICE arrested her. https://t.co/JOwhtnDJuq pic.twitter.com/L3PSEzsqn0
— Raghu Venugopal MD (@raghu_venugopal) July 6, 2025
Their mom, who says she’s ready to go to Canada to stay with a cousin in Mississauga if ICE allows, could now be separated from their three American-born children. Her day of departure is still not known, though. Referring to immigration as a sovereign matter, the Canadian government accepted being aware of the case but decided not to take any sort of action.
The betrayal stings. “My wife … up until [a couple of weeks] ago, was a strong believer in what was going to happen the next four years,” Francisco said.
And now? A system has upended the family’s once steadfast loyalty to Trump, which they believed would never come for them.
