Cynthia Olivera, a 45-year-old mother from Los Angeles, is now fighting deportation. Federal agents arrested her at the very interview where she was supposed to be approved for permanent residency here in the United States. Olivera, now a Canadian citizen, only moved to the U.S. as a child of ten. The question of her immigration status has divided opinion for decades. Her death has left her family in disbelief. This is particularly the case for her husband, Francisco Olivera, who has been a public supporter of Donald Trump’s crackdown on immigrants.
In 1999, Cynthia Olivera faced similar circumstances when U.S. immigration officials decided she was undocumented. An emergency order for her deportation was later secured. Despite these hurdles, she spent more than 25 years settled in Los Angeles, becoming part of the workforce, contributing to the economy and raising her three U.S.-born children. For years, Olivera has been battling through the often confusing and overwhelming immigration process, trying to earn her green card. Her predicament got even worse when she was recently arrested by federal authorities in California.
Right before Olivera was about to go do her interview for permanent residency, federal agents came and placed her under arrest. The timing of her detention has led many to question whether the immigration system is stacked against those seeking a fair process.
For more than a decade I toiled and paid my taxes, claimed Olivera. “The only crime I committed is to love this country and to work hard and to provide for my kids.”
Francisco Olivera told project reporters he felt confused and betrayed by his wife’s arrest, particularly because of the couple’s long-held faith in more liberal immigration policy. Most notably, he recalled how optimistic Cynthia was that all would be right with the new administration coming into power. Her steadfast championing of this concept was clear.
My wife was not at all convinced about the positive developments that were likely to occur over the next four years. Fast forward to just a few weeks ago, when everything changed.
For Cynthia Olivera, her journey north from Canada really started when she was undocumented immigrants at the age of ten. She really put down her roots in California, where she and Francisco fell in love and raised their family—an American dream. “That’s where I met my husband. That’s where I attended high school, junior high, and elementary [school]. Been to a lot of places in the U.S. — that’s where I had my kids,” she looked back on living in the U.S.
Cynthia Olivera, pictured above, has told city officials that she and her husband are willing to pay for her flight home to Canada. They think this will help expedite it. As she gets ready for this new chapter, her family faces the emotional impact of what could be separation.
She is currently in an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention facility in El Paso, Texas. She is there waiting to be deported back. Her case highlights the complexities and challenges many immigrants face when navigating U.S. immigration laws, especially those who have lived within its borders for decades.
We want Cynthia’s family to be empowered to continue to fight for her every day. They continue to hope for a resolution to reunite her with the life they had both planned and built together in California.