A Venezuelan man was detained by immigration enforcers after leaving his shift at a Walmart in Nashville.
Yali Molero realized her husband, Leugim Romero, was missing around 5 a.m. on Sunday. She later found out through social media posts that he had been arrested during an operation carried out by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), according to NewsChannel 5.
Newsweek has contacted the Department of Homeland Security and Walmart for comment via email outside normal office hours.
Why It Matters
President Donald Trump has pledged to deport millions of undocumented migrants. His administration’s hard-line agenda and ICE’s aggressive approach to enforcement have sparked concern among immigrant communities.
What To Know
“My husband is not a bad person,” Molero told NewsChannel 5.
She said authorities stopped her husband after he left his 12-hour shift at Walmart around 1 a.m., adding that he was carrying a valid temporary license at the time.
The couple left Venezuela because of political persecution and arrived in the United States nine months ago through the CBP One App, a program introduced during the Biden administration that allows migrants to schedule appointments and apply for work authorization.
The Trump administration shut down CBP One almost immediately after taking office in January. DHS replaced it with CBP Home, an app that allows immigrants to self-deport.
“We’re doing everything right to have a better life and help our families in Venezuela,” Molero said.
She expressed concern that her husband could be deported to El Salvador instead of to Venezuela. She said she wanted the authorities to return Romero to his country of origin if deportation proceeded.
Hundreds of immigrants were shipped off to El Salvador’s notorious super prison without due process in March after Trump invoked the Alien Enemies Act of 1798.
“He is not a criminal, and it hurts me that all immigrants are labeled that way,” Molero said.
She has not yet been able to contact her husband or confirm his location in detention.
Newsweek could not find Romero using the ICE detainee locator.
Molero said she planned to sell the couple’s car to cover legal fees while pursuing all available options to support her husband’s case.
Romero’s arrest came amid a major immigration enforcement operation in Nashville over the weekend.
ICE said in a statement that agents—in collaboration with federal, state and local law enforcement partners—had arrested 84 undocumented immigrants in the Nashville area since Saturday.
Nashville Mayor Freddie O’Connell criticized the operation, saying in a letter to DHS that the arrests were not focused on making the city safer.
ICE reported that during the first 100 days of Trump’s second term, the nation’s top immigration enforcement agency arrested 66,463 individuals and removed 65,682.
What People Are Saying
Speaking to NewsChannel 5 of her husband, Leugim Romero, Yali Molero said: “It’s a moment of anguish, despair, not knowing if he’s OK.”
Nashville Mayor Freddie O’Connell wrote in a letter to the Department of Homeland Security: “Our top priority is keeping people safe, and we’re deeply concerned that what appear to be federal actions are making that harder. Overnight, we understand that US Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agents detained people during enforcement actions in Middle Tennessee. As we learn more, I want to be clear: No [Metropolitan Nashville Police Department] personnel were involved in last night’s enforcement action. …
“This type of federal enforcement action is not focused on making us safer and leaves people in our community fearing any interaction with law enforcement when there is a crime occurring. We will be seeking the names of those detained.”
DHS responded on X, formerly Twitter: “During the operation in Tennessee, ICE agents arrested a convicted child sex predator, a member of Tren de Aragua, an individual convicted of aggravated assault, and multiple aliens with drug charges. The Nashville Mayor should want these criminal illegal aliens off American streets. Attacks and demonization of our brave law enforcement is wrong. ICE officers are now facing a 413 percent increase in assaults. President Trump campaigned on immigration enforcement, the American people voted for it, and DHS is delivering.”
What Happens Next
According to NewsChannel 5, Romero’s asylum paperwork showed he was scheduled to appear in court to present his case in March 2027.
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