NEED TO KNOW
A man captured the moment when his wife was detained by federal immigration agents in Florida on Wednesday, Feb. 11
Noah Lazega of Fort Lauderdale recorded a phone call between himself and his wife, Nicolth Hernandez-Lucero, during which she was stopped by agents
“You’re going to come with us tonight,” an agent told Hernandez-Lucero in the recording
A man captured the harrowing moment when his wife was detained by federal immigration agents in Florida.
In footage obtained by NBC6 Miami, Noah Lazega of Fort Lauderdale recorded a phone call between himself and his wife, Nicolth Hernandez-Lucero, on Wednesday, Feb. 11, during which she was stopped by agents.
According to Lazega, Hernandez-Lucero, 24, was driving home on Wednesday night when she was stopped by the agents near St. Ambrose Episcopal Church in Fort Lauderdale. She immediately called her husband, who began recording the call.
Lazega said that agents told his wife they were “in the area running plates” — and they did not respond to her question about probable cause for the stop.
“So you’re going to come with us tonight,” an agent told Hernandez-Lucero in the recording, per NBC6.
“Is there a reason that I got stopped?” she asked the officer, before continuing: “Am I gonna be detained?”
“Yeah,” the agent responded.
Lazega told NBC6 that he was “in shock” as he listened to the interaction over the phone.
“I can’t believe what’s happening,” he added.
According to Lazega, Hernandez-Lucero — who works as a surgical technician at an area hospital — is originally from Colombia but has lived in the United States since she was 15 years old.
The couple has been together for nearly four years and tied the knot in December 2025.
Lazega, who is a U.S. citizen, told the outlet that he had begun the process of helping his wife change her immigration status.
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“She’s a kind, compassionate person, selfless,” Lazega added of his wife. “She helps people, saves people. She has a whole community behind her right now, rooting for her.”
Hernandez-Lucero’s attorney, Justin Gould, told NBC6 that she entered the U.S. legally and has been undergoing the asylum application process with her family.
“This is a person, once again, who entered legally, who filed a case legally as a dependent through her parents and has been in this country with no criminal record,” Gould told the outlet, criticizing the immigration system.
“So now it is basically everybody’s illegal unless otherwise noted, and it’s just not OK,” Gould continued. “This is not what the president promised.”
A guard stands at the gate of the Broward Transitional Center ICE Facility in Pompano Beach, Fla., on Jan. 11, 2026
Larry Marano/Shutterstock
Lazega spoke with Hernandez-Lucero over the phone from a Florida detention center during his interview with NBC6 — and the couple took time to say “I love you” to each other.
“I love you so much,” he told her.
“I love you,” she replied.
Lazega said he hopes to bring awareness to the difficulties of the immigration system by sharing his wife’s story.
“I hope we can get her out, get her help, raise awareness for other people who are going through this right now. They don’t deserve this. Nobody deserves this,” he said.
Hernandez-Lucero is now being held at a detention facility in Pompano Beach, Fla., and is awaiting a judge to set her first court date after Gould filed for a bond hearing.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.
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