South Florida woman, a U.S. citizen battling cancer, seeks release of Venezuelan husband detained by ICE

A South Florida woman diagnosed with breast cancer is pleading for the release of her husband, a Venezuelan national who was detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement earlier this month.

Courtney Walter said her husband, 36-year-old Jorge Luis Eliecer Ruiz, was stopped by immigration agents Aug. 3 near the intersection of Wiles Road and State Road 7 in Coconut Creek. Agents instructed Ruiz to drive his truck to a nearby parking lot, where he contacted her about the detention, she said.

"He told me, 'I'm being detained by ICE,'" Walter recalled.

Walter, a U.S. citizen, said the situation has exacerbated the health challenges caused by her recent cancer diagnosis. She added that she has struggled to eat and has lost weight due to the stress.

Ruiz is being held at the Broward Transitional Center in Pompano Beach after spending nine days at an immigration processing center in Miramar.

The couple, who married in 2025, had been seeking lawful permanent residency for Ruiz. Walter said they filed an I-130 petition in September 2025, which remains pending.

ICE officials stated that Ruiz was arrested during an enforcement operation in Broward County and admitted he was in the country illegally during the stop. According to the agency, Ruiz entered the United States in April 2007 and was issued a removal order by an immigration judge on Nov. 14, 2012. He remains in custody pending removal proceedings.

David Estrella, Ruiz's attorney, questioned why the ICE statement did not acknowledge his client's marriage to a U.S. citizen. While Estrella noted that an I-130 petition does not automatically prevent deportation, he argued that Ruiz has a withholding of removal that prevents his return to Venezuela.

Estrella is currently pursuing a habeas corpus petition, requesting that a federal court allow Ruiz to continue his immigration case while released from detention.

The federal government is expected to respond to the petition as soon as Monday, Aug. 17.

For Walter, the proceedings represent a hope for stability. "I want my husband to be home, so we can continue doing the process that we started a year ago to get him his permanent residency here," she said.