ICE Detains Man With Pending Green Card App After He Was Defrauded—Lawyer

A Venezuelan national has been detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) at his Florida home after a fake immigration attorney delayed his legitimate green card application.

Juan David Pestana, 29, has been held in Florida's Krome Detention Center since he was arrested on May 9.

Newsweek has contacted the Department of Homeland Security for comment via email.

Why It Matters

President Donald Trump promised during his 2024 election campaign to carry out mass deportations. Upon returning to office in January, he has made sweeping changes as part of an aggressive crackdown.

The White House has warned that anyone who entered the country illegally is a criminal and can be detained and deported by ICE. The administration has removed hundreds of migrants under a centuries-old wartime act; has moved to revoke the temporary legal status of thousands of migrants from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela; and has tried to revoke visas of international students over their involvement in campus protests. Many of these attempts have been blocked by the courts.

Critics have highlighted that migrants living in the U.S. legally, with green cards or visas, have also been caught up in the administration's increased immigration enforcement, which is sowing fear among migrant communities.

What To Know

Pestana entered the U.S. legally through a political asylum application in 2021.

After being married to his wife, Madison Pestana, for more than a year, he filed for a permanent residency card through marriage.

However, Pestana became the victim of fraud when he used an unlicensed individual purporting to be an immigration lawyer, according to Martin Rosenow, Pestana's new attorney.

Rosenow, a licensed immigration attorney, told CBS News Miami that the fake attorney delayed Pestana's filing, putting his immigration status in jeopardy.

"Because these people ended up defrauding the family, his wife and Juan David, everything got delayed, and they couldn't file until about a month ago," Rosenow said.

According to CBS, Pestana's green card application was pending at the time of his arrest.

On May 9, his wife, a recent medical school graduate, said she received a call from Pestana saying he'd been detained by ICE outside their home as he was getting into his truck to go to work.

What People Are Saying

Madison Pestana told CBS News Miami: "I am being put in a position right now that I worked 15 years of my life to become a surgeon, but if my husband is kicked out of this country, I will have to go with him because I'm not living my life without my husband."

Nestor Yglesias, a spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security, said in a statement: "Juan David Pestana Buendia is an unlawfully present alien with dual citizenship from Venezuela and Portugal. Pestana Buendia legally entered the country on June 29, 2021, and failed to comply with the terms of his admission. He was arrested by ICE officers on May 9, 2025. He will remain in ICE custody pending his removal from the country."

What Happens Next

Rosenow has requested parole for Pestana as his immigration case continues.