A man who voted for President Donald Trump says he does not regret his decision, even after federal immigration authorities arrested his wife as the couple returned home from their honeymoon.
Bradley Bartell’s wife, Camila Muñoz, is a Peruvian citizen who overstayed her initial visa but was working toward obtaining permanent residency in the United States.
Despite the couple’s ordeal, Bartell still supports Trump, who has vowed to conduct the largest mass deportation operation in U.S. history. “I don’t regret the vote,” Bartell told Newsweek in an exclusive statement.
Bradley Bartell
Why It Matters
Millions of Americans voted for Trump in support of his promise to carry out large-scale deportations of migrants living in the U.S. unlawfully, particularly those with criminal records. As immigration enforcement efforts ramp up across the country, concerns are mounting that the Trump administration is not, as it pledged, targeting the “worst first.”
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents have apprehended nonviolent criminals and legal permanent residents while fulfilling Trump’s mass deportation plans, and the White House has said that anyone in the country illegally is a criminal.
What To Know
In 2019, Muñoz arrived in Wisconsin Dells on a work-study visa, which expired around the time COVID-19 began and international travel came to a standstill. While working in farming and hospitality, she met Bartell, who gave her his number on a scrap of paper—though she initially threw it away.
A few days later, they reconnected on Facebook and soon developed a serious relationship. The couple eventually married, but a honeymoon wasn’t possible because of the pandemic.
In February, Muñoz and Bartell traveled to Puerto Rico to finally take their honeymoon, and upon returning to the U.S. mainland, immigration agents stopped Muñoz and asked whether she was an American citizen. When she explained that she wasn’t but was in the process of obtaining a green card, they detained her. She is being held in an ICE facility in Louisiana.
Speaking with Newsweek, Bartell described the emotional toll of watching his wife being detained. “It’s all been a nightmare really, taking things as they come and moving forward,” he said. “We have an attorney. The system for getting people through seems to be very inefficient, so it is taking longer than it should.”
Bradley Bartell
Still, Bartell stood by his vote for Trump. Since sharing his story, he has faced intense public scrutiny. “I’ve received a lot of hateful messages, plenty of people saying we deserve this. And a lot of other insults,” he said, acknowledging the backlash.
Bartell has criticized ICE and called for reform. “ICE never really has any information, it seems. The system needs to be revamped for better processes and communication between departments.”
He said the situation had forced him to consider drastic options in the event that his wife is deported. “It has crossed my mind to move to Peru if she gets deported, but it would be very difficult for my son,” he said.
Regarding Trump, Bartell said: “He didn’t create the system, but he does have an opportunity to improve it. Hopefully, all this attention will bring to light how broken it is.”
Other Trump supporters have similarly been affected by the president’s aggressive immigration enforcement operations.
Earlier this month, ICE detained Jensy Machado, a naturalized U.S. citizen, in northern Virginia.
“They just got out of the car with the guns in their hands and say, turn off the car, give me the keys, open the window, you know. Everything was really fast,” he told Telemundo 44 and NBC 4 Washington.
Machado added: “I voted for Trump last election, but, because I thought it was going to be the things, you know, like … just go against criminals, not every Hispanic looking, like, that they will assume that we are all illegals.”
Reports have emerged that several legal residents and even some American citizens have been caught up in recent ICE raids and enforcement actions.
On March 8, Palestinian student activist Mahmoud Khalil, a green card holder, was detained in front of his wife, who is eight months pregnant and a U.S. citizen, at their home in a Columbia University-owned building.
Khalil, who played a key role in last year’s campus protests, is being held at a detention center in Louisiana.
What People Are Saying
A Department of Homeland Security spokesperson previously told Newsweek: “Thanks to President Trump and Secretary Noem, we are once again a nation of laws. We will find, arrest, and deport illegal aliens. We are prioritizing the worst of the worst and aliens with final removal orders. Secretary Noem’s message is clear: If you come to our country illegally, we will deport you, and you will never return. The safest option for illegal aliens is to self-deport, so they still have the opportunity to return and live the American dream.”
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said at a January news conference: “If an individual is overstaying their visa, they are, therefore, an illegal immigrant residing in this country, and they are subject to deportation.”
What Happens Next
Muñoz is expected to remain in ICE custody while awaiting an outcome in her case.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by PostX News and is published from a syndicated feed.)
