The wife of a Colombian asylum-seeker detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is accusing the agency of violating his rights, allegedly denying him medical care, and attempting to deport him without a court hearing.
Manuela Flórez, 28, says her husband, Juan Eduardo Pineda Noreña, 32, was arrested by federal immigration agents in the parking lot of his plumbing job in Summit, New Jersey, on July 15, 2025.
“I feel broken, exhausted, and desperate. Every day is a fight to save him. I’m watching the person I love suffer in silence, and I feel powerless,” Flórez told Newsweek.
“They didn’t allow him to contact anyone, didn’t explain what was happening, and treated him like a criminal—despite him having no criminal record and an active asylum case,” she added.
Newsweek has contacted ICE as well as its parent agency, the Department of Homeland Security for comment.
Why It Matters
Immigration authorities have faced increased scrutiny amid allegations of misconduct, placing the agency at the heart of the national debate over immigration policy. After President Donald Trump directed a surge in arrests to advance his pledge of mass deportations, concerns arose about the legality and human consequences of ICE’s enforcement actions
What To Know
Pineda, who arrived in the U.S. in October 2022, was granted humanitarian parole, filed for asylum, and received a work permit and Social Security number. He was working legally and complying with all ICE requirements before his arrest, according to his wife.
Pineda’s extended family fled Colombia after threats from armed groups and now lives in Spain. Flórez, who is also seeking asylum in the U.S, says that deportation would leave her husband isolated and in serious danger.
Now he is in ICE custody at Pine Prairie Detention Center in Louisiana after a transfer from Elizabeth Detention Center in New Jersey.
Pineda is allegedly being denied medication for his asthma, postsurgical pain treatment for a recent back operation, and medical attention for a high fever he’s had for multiple days.
Flórez said her husband told her the conditions inside the facility are “inhumane and degrading.”
Pineda told his wife that the detention center is overcrowded with more than 150 men crammed into a space meant for 80.
“New detainees arrived and were forced to sleep on the floor, without mattresses or bedding,” she said.
“He is physically and emotionally deteriorating every day,” she said.
Flórez alleges ICE is relying on a deportation order issued in 2022—before her husband was granted humanitarian parole, filed for asylum, and received a work permit.
She says using an outdated order to remove him ignores his current legal status and bypasses his right to a hearing.
She also claims agents have been pressuring detainees to sign documents without allowing them to read them.
She says her husband has had no court hearing scheduled and fears ICE could deport him at any moment.
Juan is a law-abiding taxpayer and adhered to all requirements of the legal immigration process, his wife says.
“We are completely devastated. We live in fear every day. The emotional toll this has taken on us is overwhelming,” Flórez said.
“He came to the U.S. to escape danger, to work, and to build a life with dignity. Now, he is being punished and silenced, trapped in a system that is ignoring his humanity, denying him medical care, and violating his rights.
“He deserves medical attention. He deserves legal due process. He deserves to be heard. And above all, he deserves to live.”
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