Bryan José Rojas Galofre wanted to give his wife a lovely honeymoon to see the beach for the first time and perhaps a glimpse of President Donald Trump, whom she supports.Subscribe to read this story ad-free Get unlimited access to ad-free articles and exclusive content.Their January 2025 road trip from Wisconsin to Miami, however, turned into a nightmare, according to the couple: Rojas, a Venezuelan immigrant whose wife and young children are U.S.citizens, was detained following a stop at a Trump hotel security checkpoint.He spent more than three months in ICE custody in Florida.
Rojas also faced accusations of gang affiliation; he says he feared being deported to El Salvador and lost his stable job and work permit.The family says they’ve lost their house and car, had to deplete Rojas’ 401(k) and are in debt.“In the end, it was a bad decision,” Rojas, 34, said in an interview with Noticias Telemundo about wanting to take his wife, Socorro Zaragosa, to the Trump National Doral hotel.
They wanted to see if they could catch a glimpse of the president, who was there inaugurating a Republican retreat on Jan.27.
Rojas said they had made reservations to stay at that hotel starting the following day.Zaragosa, 22, a U.S.citizen, was raised in Wisconsin in a family that supports the current U.S.
president.“I’m his fan.I believe Trump is a good president,” she said.
However, Zaragosa noted this political loyalty co-exists with the disappointment she feels over the months her husband spent in detention.“What he is doing to migrants isn’t fair,” Zaragosa said of the president.“What happened to my family wasn’t fair.”From honeymoon to detentionRojas had arrived in the U.S.
in September 2021, during the administration of President Joe Biden.He turned himself in to Border Patrol, telling them he was fleeing Venezuela, and was released while his asylum application was being processed.Since then, Rojas had been working at a brake disc factory in...