A man who voted for Donald Trump in the November presidential election is standing by his decision even after Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents detained his wife.
Bradley Bartell and his wife Camila Muñoz, were returning from their honeymoon when Muñoz was detained by ICE at the airport.
Muñoz is a Peruvian citizen who entered the country legally but overstayed her visa and was working toward obtaining permanent residency in the United States.
Despite the circumstances he finds himself in, Bartell is standing by his decision to back the president.
“I don’t regret the vote,” he told Newsweek.
Bartell voted for Trump and his promise to crack down on ‘criminal illegal immigrants.’ He told USA Today earlier this week that he never thought his wife would get swept up by ICE because she does not have a criminal record and is a hard-working woman who came legally, not one of the “illegals” who crossed the border that Trump promised to deport.
Since sharing his story, Bartell said he has “received a lot of hateful messages, plenty of people saying we deserve this. And a lot of other insults.”
Still, Bartell is refusing to blame Trump. He criticized ICE instead and called for reforms, which he believes Trump is the right person to implement.
“ICE never really has any information, it seems. The system needs to be revamped for better processes and communication between departments,” he told Newsweek. “He [Trump] 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.”
Bartell says he is now considering drastic options such as moving to Peru if his wife gets deported.
