A carpenter and father of two living in Staunton was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement in early June. WMRA's Randi B. Hagi spoke with his wife about why they came to America and her fears about her husband's possible deportation. Listeners should be advised this story contains descriptions of violence.
Olman has lived in Staunton with his wife and two children since 2023. He's a carpenter who gets up at five in the morning each day to travel to jobs in Harrisonburg, Waynesboro, and elsewhere in the Shenandoah Valley.
I spoke with Olman's wife, with the help of her acquaintance through church, who translated for us. The translator noted that she is not a native Spanish speaker, but could summarize the woman's words. WMRA agreed to keep both women anonymous and only refer to Olman by his first name, due to the couple's fear of violence in their home country. Olman's wife was visibly distressed telling her story.
WMRA confirmed through an ICE database that Olman, a 31-year-old man from Central America, is being held in the Caroline Detention Facility, 25 miles southeast of Fredericksburg. We found no criminal records for him in Virginia, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, or the federal court system.
Here's Olman's wife, speaking through the translator. Her story begins several years ago in their home country, the name of which we are also withholding.
[Olman's wife speaking in Spanish, voice fades under translator]
OLMAN'S WIFE, THROUGH TRANSLATOR: My husband is one of the nicest humans. He has so much love in his heart. I remember the day when I gave birth to our first child, and he had a look on his face – he couldn't believe that he got to be a father. … My husband wanted to start a small workshop, and where, the country that I come from, there are many gangs, and … in order to have a business there, you have to pay, they make you pay extortion money.
[Olman's wife speaks haltingly]
TRANSLATOR: There were sometimes when he was unable to pay, and one time, my father was there at the workshop, and they came and they beat him up. … We were paying for years, and it was really tough, because it was a lot of money, and we had to pay every single week. … They came to get the extortion money one week, and my husband, he wasn't able to get the full amount. … They started to beat him up, and then they lit his workshop on fire, and he was trapped inside. … The neighbors near us were so helpful, and they helped to get him out, but I saw him, my husband, running, and he was burned all over his body. … He was burned, third degree, all over his face, all over his body, all over his arms.
WMRA reviewed a few photos documenting these graphic injuries. The translator told me Olman still has burn scars over much of his body.
TRANSLATOR: He stayed for 10 days in the clinic, but we could see that motorcycles were passing in the front of the clinic from the gang. … So, our family went into hiding when he was able to get out of the clinic. We hid for one whole year. We did not leave the house, we were that scared.
She said they went to the police, who did nothing.
TRANSLATOR: No one would do anything. It was impossible. And also around this time, we became pregnant with our second child, and we were in a panic, realizing we can't, we can't do this. … So at that point we decided we needed to find another place to try and live, and it was not something I wanted to do. I did not want to leave.
She said they first sought asylum in two other Latin American countries, but in both places, the local police robbed or extorted money from them.
[Olman's wife speaks through tears]
TRANSLATOR: At this point, I'm pregnant, and we're having this repeat situation where we can't trust that anybody will give us refuge. … So we finally did arrive in the U.S., and we asked for asylum, and we had ourselves set up with court dates with ICE, and we followed all of the things that they were asking us to do. This was in 2022. … When we got here, it was like, finally we could be in a safe place, and it was a really tranquil life.
By 2023, they had settled in Staunton. Olman found work, their oldest child enrolled in school, his wife gave birth to their second child, and the family tried to heal from the trauma they'd experienced. Olman's wife said local residents were kind and caring towards them. Then, in early June, Olman got a notification on his phone, telling him to report to Richmond for an appointment with ICE.
TRANSLATOR: The lawyers told us that we had to follow the rules. Everyone told us to not go, but my husband only wants to do what is right, so he went. … Then I received a message from him saying "you should leave, somebody has said inside that they're taking everybody." … It was a really chaotic moment. My children were trying to push past the guards to get to their father … and they wouldn't tell anybody what was happening.
Since then, she's received a few phone calls from Olman in detention, and they've retained an immigration attorney. But they don't know what's going to happen to him.
WMRA found that the immigration court system does not have a case filed under Olman's identification number. I spoke with two immigration attorneys about what this could mean. One said it's possible that the charging document just hasn't been issued and filed yet. But they both agreed ICE could be trying to place Olman in an "expedited removal" process that would bypass the immigration courts. It's a mechanism the Trump administration wants to expand using this year, although Olman may not legally be subject to it since he's been in the U.S. for more than two years.
But Olman should still have the right to a "credible fear interview," in which he gets a chance to tell an asylum officer about his fears of returning to his home country. Asylum is reserved for those persecuted due to their race, religion, nationality, social group, or political opinion. Olman could also be considered for "withholding of removal," in which someone who is deemed ineligible for asylum is still allowed to stay in the U.S. for fear of persecution back home.
[Olman's wife holding back tears]
TRANSLATOR: I've talked to his family, my family back in our home country to let them know about Olman's detainment. They've said "he can't come back here. He'll be killed." Everybody is very scared. … This is a situation that many families are suffering from, and I want to ask if there's any way anyone can help me to get my husband home to his children.
[Olman's wife speaking in Spanish]
She says Olman will be in great danger if he's sent back to their home country. They both will be. "We can't go back."
