WISCONSIN DELLS, Wis. (CBS 58) -- A Wisconsin couple, married for nearly a year, were separated for weeks after the wife was arrested by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents.
Camila Munoz came to America on a work visa from Peru in 2019. But after COVID hit the following year, Munoz couldn't get home and overstayed her visa.
Fast forward to May of 2024, Munoz and Bradley Bartell were married and working on getting Munoz's U.S. citizenship. But in February of this year, an ICE agent found Munoz in an airport and learned she wasn't a legal citizen.
Since then, she's spent nearly seven weeks away from her husband, being sent to different detention centers, living in total confusion.
"There was no information for me," said Munoz. "I was like, OK I am going to be here one week, two, three, four. So at least you can know how long you were going to be in detention. The main thing is nobody knows anything. They don't give you information quick. So that was my main worry in the whole situation because I did not know the rules change very quick. Now, immigration law changes so fast, that now everything is new so the workers in detention don't know what's going on."
Munoz recently was able to post bond and return home to her husband.
But the legal process is still playing out, she has a hearing in court next week.
Her husband, who says he voted for President Donald Trump in November, stands by his decision.
"There's still a lot of time left here, you know 49 days is only 1/7 of the year. Still a lot of work to be done, still a lot to do here with the economy," said Bartell. "A lot of this immigration is fallout from the last four years, due to people being able to freely cross the border without having to register anywhere. We have no idea who is in our country, not everyone came here like my wife did with a VISA. Some of them just walked across the border, and we don't know who these people are, some of them are cartel members, some of them are gang members. It would be nice if someone could go somewhere and register, and be like, 'Hi I'm here and I am going to work.' There are a lot of good individuals who just want a better opportunity who do the cross the border, but the sad reality is the criminals the one's we don't want here aren't going to turn themselves in."
Munoz takes responsibility for living in the country without proper paperwork but believes as someone who has paid taxes and hasn't gotten into trouble with the law previous, wishes this process for her and any other immigrant in a similar situation, didn't take as long.