Pennsylvania man released after spending more than 2 months in ICE custody: "It was such a total surprise"

A Chester County, Pennsylvania, man originally from Venezuela is back home after spending more than two months in ICE custody.

ICE arrested 35-year-old Nelson Contreras-Gelves on June 27 in Philadelphia, about a week after he and his wife Ariel Whaley celebrated their wedding reception. Federal authorities unexpectedly released him Sept. 10.

"It was such a total surprise," Whaley said. "Even now, it's been maybe three weeks later, I'll look at him or I'll wake up in the morning and I'm like, 'Oh my gosh, I can't believe you're here.'"

Contreras-Gelves said he entered the United States through the southern border in 2022 after fleeing political persecution in his home country. He said the hardest part of being in ICE custody was being separated from his wife.

"I had a lot of anguish and cried a lot every day," Contreras-Gelves said in Spanish while describing the conditions in ICE detention.

While Contreras-Gelves was detained, members of the community wrote letters to their representatives urging his release. They also donated thousands of dollars to help the family.

"The outpouring of support when he was released and the joy that we all shared together made it all the more sweet," Whaley said.

Contreras-Gelves is now trying to rebuild his life while navigating restrictions tied to his release. He is required to wear a GPS monitor on his ankle and cannot leave Pennsylvania, New Jersey or Delaware.

"That kind of complicated things because he worked at the BJ's distribution center in Maryland, and they told him that if he wanted to go back to that job, we would have to move to Maryland," Whaley said.

He also has not been able to return to his job at the nonprofit Mighty Writers because its food pantry and office are currently shut down.

Contreras-Gelves has regular check-ins with an ICE contractor, including visits to his home in Kennett Square. The couple is working to obtain his green card, but Whaley said she remains worried that he could ultimately be deported.

"There's still that anxiety and fear and just the trauma that he went through and then I went through," Whaley said. "There's still a lot of healing to do."

Despite the uncertainty, the couple is focused on moving forward.

Whaley said she hopes immigration reforms can prevent other families from experiencing the same ordeal.

"At the very least, there definitely needs to be a more humane process to all of this," she said.