Share and Follow
A HUSBAND has vowed his support for Donald Trump – even though his wife faces deportation amid the president’s immigration crackdown.
Bradley Bartell from Wisconsin backed the Republican leader during the November election – only to see his Peruvian wife getting arrested under his policies.
US immigration authorities detained Sylvia Camilla Muñoz-Lira last month after she reportedly overstayed her J-1 visa.
The Peruvian woman was nabbed by ICE agents at Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport in San Juan while she was returning from a honeymoon trip with her husband.
She is now locked up at the Richwood Correctional Center in Louisiana. and faces deportation.
But husband Bartell, who is now desperately working to get his wife out of trouble, says he still supports Trump and his policies.
Mr Bartell believes Trump and the government are doing the right thing for the country, even though the situation has been “extremely tough” for his family.
He told the New York Post: “I still support our president. It’s kind of a tough slope.
“I just feel they need to get stuff moving on this because they’re holding a lot of people and it’s costing the taxpayers money.
“It’s taking a long time to even get dates set for people to speak with judges.”
Mr Bartell said he initially thought the Trump administration would only deport criminals and thugs.
He said: “It’s gone a little farther than that. They’re just grabbing anyone they can.”
The husband said he is only allowed to speak to his wife for 15 minutes each day – and they both rely on the prison‘s internal messaging system for conversations.
Ms Muñoz-Lira got a temporary visa in 2019 when she got accepted into a work-study program.
However, when the Covid pandemic hit the next year, she was unable to return back home.
The woman continued to work in Wisconsin before marrying Mr Bartell in 2024.
She even applied to get a US citizenship, but her case has been under review since then, Mr Bartell said.
The husband is now seeking legal help to get her wife out of prison.
He has now set up a GoFundme account to raise $3,000 to help with the legal fee.
He said his total legal fees are more than $15,000.
Trump’s day-one immigration executive order allows federal agents to arrest and remove any individual lacking legal documentation.
He also signed a directive to end birthright citizenship – when a person born on US soil is given American citizenship.
And he closed down a Biden-era Customs and Border Protection app that gave migrants the chance to apply to legally enter the US by seeking asylum.
It comes after a top Canadian actress who played a role in the famous American Pie movie franchise was detained at the Mexico border.
Jasmine Mooney, 35, said she has been held in “inhumane” conditions and was “wrapped in chains” after being held by US immigration officials while trying to get a new visa.
Trump’s crackdown on immigration
Starting on January 20, Trump has taken a series of measures aimed at cracking down on migration, including implementing a broad ban on asylum for migrants encountered at the southern border and ending some legal pathways for migrants to enter the US.
The abrupt termination of one such humanitarian parole program, known as CBP One, left thousands of migrants from around the world suddenly stranded in Mexico with few, if any, legal pathways to reach the U.S.
About 20 migrants in Mexico told Reuters that since CBP One ended on January 20 they’ve sought to return to their home countries, but lack the money or documents to do so. Some don’t have valid passports, required for boarding international flights.
Many migrants fear staying in Mexico due to the risks of assault, kidnapping, and extortion by powerful organized crime groups that prey on migrants.
