California newlyweds say feds tricked wife into ICE detention

A newly married man says he and his wife were lied to and tricked by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services when his wife was detained by federal agents during what they believed was her final step toward becoming a citizen: an interview for her green card.

Barbara Marques, who came to the U.S. seven years ago from Brazil to explore life in America, met Tucker May on a dating app. The pair bonded over a shared love of film and married in April.

“We fell for each other very quickly,” May told KTLA’s Rachel Menitoff.

He said that when it came to his wife’s immigration process, the couple followed every rule, which is why they showed up for their USCIS appointment at the federal building in downtown Los Angeles. There, they were reportedly told that their paperwork was in order and everything looked good.

“The USCIS representative looked us right in the eyes and said, ‘Everything looks good,’” May said.

Moments later, the representative asked Marques to accompany him to make a copy of her passport.

As soon as she left the room, May said, she was detained by immigration agents. The only explanation given to the couple was that Marques had missed a 2019 court appearance — one they say she was unaware of.

“We let her out of our sight. She never came back,” May said. “We were lied to; we were tricked in order to have her separated from the attorney we brought specifically for any kind of worst-case scenario like this.”

Marques was first taken to a detention facility in Adelanto before being transferred to another in Arizona.

May filed urgent court documents seeking signatures that could halt her deportation, but he believes the detention center withheld the paperwork for a week and is still not processing it in a timely manner.

At 4 a.m. Monday, he received a call from Marques informing him she had been moved to a detention facility in Louisiana. The couple fears this could be her final stop before deportation to Central or South America.

“There is a serious clock ticking here. If my wife is sent from this country, if we cannot stop that, it very realistically could be years before she is able to rejoin me here in the United States,” May said. “This is how we treat the people who dream of becoming Americans.”

Not giving up, May is urgently trying to find an immigration attorney in Louisiana who can deliver the court filings to Marques for her signature. He said he would do it himself, but according to federal rules, only an attorney is permitted to do so.

KTLA has reached out to the Department of Homeland Security regarding the couple’s case. Officials requested additional information so they could investigate the incident and provide an update.