REDWOOD CITY, CA — A woman returned to Redwood City after spending 16 days in immigration detention, an experience that left her husband — a three-time Trump voter who supported the president's immigration crackdown — questioning the administration's tactics, according to a report by The New York Times.
Galina Bobreneva, a Russian citizen, was arrested by federal agents July 13 after she and her husband, Brent Jindra, flew from San Francisco to Burbank, according to the Times. The couple had been planning to celebrate Bobreneva's 40th birthday in Sonoma County wine country.
Federal officials accused Bobreneva of overstaying her visa. Her attorney maintained that she was never out of lawful status, and Bobreneva had a pending marriage-based green card application sponsored by Jindra, the Times reported.
The Department of Homeland Security told the newspaper that a pending application or work authorization did not confer legal status.
Bobreneva spent a night in a Los Angeles holding cell before being transferred to an immigration detention center in Adelanto, where she remained for about two weeks, according to the report.
She was released July 29 on a $35,000 bond and required to wear an electronic ankle monitor.
The couple later returned to Redwood City. On Aug. 5, Bobreneva reported to ICE in San Francisco with her attorney and was instructed to return Sept. 7, according to the Times.
The case came as the Trump administration expanded immigration enforcement to include airport arrests of people with expired visas who had active immigration cases and no criminal histories, the Times reported.
Jindra told the newspaper that he had voted for Trump three times and supported tougher enforcement against people who entered the country illegally, but said his wife's detention had changed his view of the administration's approach.
"We are living in fear in my own country," Jindra told the Times.
Bobreneva's first immigration court appearance was scheduled for Oct. 22.
Read the full story at The New York Times.
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