SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — It was supposed to be a major milestone in her life.
Cynthia Olivera wore black dress pants, flats and a blouse, arriving early to her June 13 green card interview in Chatsworth, Calif.
“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,” Olivera, 45, said in a tearful video interview with Team 10 from an immigration detention center in El Paso, Texas.
Olivera had waited years for the moment she could appear before an immigration officer and finalize her green card application.
She said that after getting inside the Chatsworth immigration office, a security guard randomly asked if she was Cynthia.
“And I said, 'Yeah.' And he said, 'Okay.' And then that was it," she said.
Soon after, she went into an interview room and answered questions from an immigration officer while her husband, Francisco Olvera, a U.S. citizen, waited outside.
“And then after I gave my declaration, my statement, the ICE agents came in. The interviewer never came back," she said.
She said she got up and was placed in handcuffs.
Cynthia, who was born in Canada, said her parents brought her to the United States from Toronto when she was just 10 years old.
In 1999, immigration officers at the Buffalo border crossing issued an expedited removal order against the Canadian after discovering she had been living in the country illegally, she said.
- Canadian woman put in chains, detained by ICE after entering San Diego border
For the next 25 years, she said she tried to live the American dream by working in LA, paying taxes and providing for her family.
Last year, she got a work permit under the Biden administration, which let her work legally in the country.
IMG_2684.JPG “The only crime I committed is to love this country and to work hard and to provide for my kids,” she said, fighting back tears.
Team 10 searched California and federal court databases and found no criminal charges under Cynthia’s name.
Francisco said he’s been trying for over two weeks to figure out a way to book a flight for his wife to Canada, but can’t get through to anyone at ICE to arrange the deportation.
“At this moment, pretty much hopeless,” he said in an interview from Panorama City.
He said his wife has waived her right to a bond or asylum hearing and agreed to expedited removal by signing a form.
“There's nothing expeditious about this,” he said.
Francisco said he voted for President Donald Trump last year.
'I want my vote back'
Both he and his wife supported Trump’s campaign promise to launch the largest deportation program for criminals in U.S. history, he said.
Even though his wife was in the country illegally, Francisco didn’t believe she would be targeted.
“We feel totally blindsided, betrayed,” he said, adding, “I want my vote back.”
Screenshot 2025-07-03 at 2.13.00 PM.png Cynthia said she is desperate for the Canadian government to intervene and help get her on a flight out of El Paso. She plans to live with a cousin in Mississauga after being deported.
“I've gone to four different facilities, and every single facility I've gone to, I've told them I’ll pay for my own flight. I’ll pay for it," Cynthia said.
Francisco said taxpayers shouldn’t have to foot the bill for his wife’s detention—which ICE’s website estimates costs $152 a day—when he’s willing to pay for her flight to Canada.
