After meeting at a salsa dancing class in Dallas’s Klyde Warren Park in 2024, Rafael and Heather Alambarrio seemed destined for happily ever after.
“Something we really like to do is go to concerts,” said Heather, combing through dozens of photos on her dining room table.
The couple married at the McKinney courthouse in June, followed by a reception with friends.
“My best friend said something, and it’s just so true. She said, ‘When I think about Rafael, I just think about joy and kindness, and it’s so hard to imagine him in a place like that. You know? It’s so hard to imagine him there’,” she said.
The couple had just one final hurdle.
In November, they met with U.S. Customs and Immigration to apply for Rafael’s Green Card.
He’s a Venezuelan native who came to the U.S. fleeing political persecution in 2023.
Heather said the interview went well and that the U.S. Customs and Immigration Services told them to expect it to arrive in 30 to 60 days. But the next day, the White House announced it would pause processing applications for people from 19 countries, including Venezuela.
A Department of Homeland Security report from 2023 documents the torture Rafael faced as a result of protests. The Credible Fear Determination interview found, “he was harmed and would be harmed if [he] returned to Venezuela.”
Rafael was granted parole as he applied for asylum, but that parole eventually expired.
On Jan. 15, the couple reported to the Dallas ICE office for an annual check-in.
Heather says Rafael never came back out.
“About 45 minutes went by, and the door opened, and our attorney walked out, and she looked at me, and she just shook her head, and I think this wail just came up from my bones,” said Heather.
For now, Rafael is held at the Prairieland Detention Facility in Alvarado.
In a statement to NBC 5, an ICE spokesperson wrote:
“ICE Dallas officers arrested Jose Rafael Cardenas Alambarrio, an illegal alien from Venezuela, Jan. 15.
Cardenas illegally entered the U.S. in August 2023 under the Biden administration, which allowed millions of unvetted illegal aliens to enter the country. He is expected to remain in ICE custody pending the outcome of his immigration proceedings.”
The Alambarrios’ attorney, Caitlin Twyman, said Rafael’s detention isn’t unlawful.
“What’s different about this case is that he was in the process of obtaining legal status, that Mr. Alambarrio had no criminal record, that he’s reported faithfully to all his check-ins and had two bona fide applications to legalize his status, that that kind of person was detained and that these priorities are changing very quickly,” said Twyman.
As a McKinney school teacher, Heather’s now doing her best to fight for her husband’s release, while showing up for her kids. The community has rallied to help pay their legal fees.
Still, she knows it’s a long road ahead.
“I feel like we’re doing the right things and following the rules. And Raphael’s detained. He’s been for weeks in this terrible place. And this joyful man has been traumatized once again. But instead of it being a communist regime, it’s our country. The country I love is doing this to our family and to him,” she said.
Alambarrio’s next hearing is on Feb. 17.