CAPE CORAL, Fla. — Madeline Ramos-Delgado planned to get married at the beach. Instead, her wedding dress still hangs in the closet. Her husband's shiny black shoes are on the floor, with the tag still on. That's because she said her husband was detained by ICE.
Watch as a Cape Coral woman fights to bring her husband home:
It's a painful reminder of what actually happened. Madeline and her husband Ledgar signed a marriage certificate at Krome Detention Center outside Miami.
Ramos-Delgado said ICE detained her husband, Ledgar Delgado, despite a valid work visa and no criminal history.
Ramos-Delgado said her husband is from Venezuela and entered the United States in 2023. Ramos-Delgado said he was detained by federal authorities after crossing the U.S.-Mexico border. He then applied for asylum and was granted a work visa, Ramos-Delgado said.
Fox 4 reviewed a federal I-797 form that appears to show he had a legal work visa through 2029.
"We had our dream of having our wedding by the beach," Ramos-Delgado said. "We couldn't finalize the marriage until he was detained."
"It hurts me, I'm like - why?" she said.
Ledgar worked as a pool cleaner for Hector Leon in Cape Coral, who described him as family.
Leon said he's still trying to fill Delgado's position. But nobody can fill his shoes. Leon started to choke up when he talked about the young man from Venezuela.
"I never had to call him for anything," Leon said. "Customers call me, gave me good complements about him, tipping them, I mean, all good, it was perfect...it's hard to find good help."
On Aug. 28, Ramos-Delgado said her husband had a routine immigration check-in Miramar. That's when ICE detained Ledgar. Ramos-Delgado said her husband has an asylum hearing scheduled for 2027 and shouldn't have been detained.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem told reporters in Bradenton last Monday that DHS is prioritizing deportations of dangerous criminals.
"We've gotten murderers off the street, rapists, murderers, people who have committed crimes against children," Noem said.
Court records searches in Lee, Broward and Miami-Dade counties found no criminal history for Delgado. Fox 4 asked ICE why it detained him, but we did not hear back.
ICE's detainee locator shows Delgado is currently being held in El Paso. Fox 4 spoke with Delgado over the phone on Thursday night. He told us conditions at the facility are bad, with limited access to medical care.
"I want [to] see my family," Delgado said. "My wife, my grandma."
Without her husband's income, Ramos-Delgado said she's struggling financially.
"I haven't been able to make complete car payments at all," she said.
She launched a GoFundMe campaign for help. More than anything, Ramos-Delgado said she wants her husband back.
"Continue living our life," Ramos-Delgado said.
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