Venezuelan woman detained by ICE despite marrying U.S. citizen, sparking South Florida immigration fight
A South Florida couple says they thought they were following the rules, but now find themselves caught in a complicated immigration battle that has kept them separated for months.
Gabriela Sousa entered the United States legally in April 2023 under a federal humanitarian parole program for Venezuelans. The program allowed her to live and work in the U.S. for two years, with her authorization set to expire on April 19, 2025.
Just two days before that deadline, Sousa married her husband, Brandon Garrison. The couple believed the marriage would allow them to begin the process of adjusting her immigration status.
"We were under the impression that once you get married, that starts the process and then you're no longer illegal," Garrison said.
Marriage and parole timing complicate immigration status
However, their situation took a turn months later.
In October 2025, the couple was arrested by Hollywood Police following a domestic dispute. According to Garrison, the incident stemmed from a misunderstanding after a neighbor called authorities. Both he and Sousa were taken into custody due to conflicting accounts.
The case was later closed, with no charges filed.
While Garrison bonded out quickly, he says, Sousa remained in custody at the Broward County Jail for about a month before being transferred to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). She has since been moved between multiple facilities and is now being held at a prison in Jacksonville, her husband said.
For the past five months, the couple has only been able to communicate through jail calls.
Garrison said they have a pending I-130 Petition, which has been under review since November; the form is used by a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident to establish a qualifying family relationship with a foreign relative so they can apply for a green card.
Legal options limited as deportation risk grows
However, their ability to move forward has become increasingly uncertain, Garrison said.
Immigration attorney Morella Aguado said timing played a critical role in Sousa's case.
"They should have applied before her parole expired," Aguado explained, noting that current immigration policies make it difficult for judges to delay proceedings while petitions like the I-130 are processed, a process that can take anywhere from 18 to 36 months.
Aguado said one possible path forward is filing a habeas corpus petition, which challenges the legality of Sousa's detention and could potentially lead to her release.
"If she doesn't do the habeas, then most likely what's going to happen is that she's going to have to take voluntary departure," Aguado said. "She would have to leave the country and wait abroad for her immigration process to continue."
That's a scenario the couple is hoping to avoid.
"I've never really thought about having to move to another country, " Garrison said.
Still, he said he's prepared to do whatever it takes to stay with his wife, even if that means leaving the U.S.
Garrison traveled to Jacksonville to protest hoping to bring attention to her case and push for her release.
CBS News Miami has reached out to the Department of Homeland Security and ICE for comment on Sousa's status and they responded with the following statement:
"Gabriela Alejandra Lozano Sousa, a criminal illegal alien with a previous arrest for domestic abuse entered the United States on April 21, 2023, under the Biden Administration's disastrous CHNV program. This program never conferred legal status – Sousa has always been in the United States illegally. ICE arrested her on October 15, 2025, and she will remain in ICE detention pending her immigration proceedings.
Under President Trump's leadership, DHS ended the abuse of humanitarian parole authority. The Biden administration allowed more than half a million very poorly vetted aliens from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela enter the United States through this political scheme, masquerading as legitimate parole programs. They granted these individuals, many of whom were criminals, gang members, and even terrorists, opportunities to compete for American jobs and undercut American workers, forced career civil servants to promote the programs even when fraud was identified, and then blamed Republicans in Congress for the chaos that ensued and the crime that followed."