The Brief
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Faye Podskarbi’s husband, Robert, a Polish immigrant and U.S. green card holder, was detained by ICE during a routine check-in in July.
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Faye claims Robert’s detention is politically motivated and describes the conditions as “inhumane.”
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She is pleading for his release, accusing the system of profiting from immigrant families’ suffering.
ORANGE COUNTY, Calif. – What began as a routine check-in with immigration authorities has turned into a months-long nightmare for an Orange County, California, family. Faye Podskarbi says her husband, Robert, a Polish immigrant and U.S. green card holder since 2007, was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) during a scheduled appointment at the Santa Ana Federal Building in July.
“He’s just a loving husband, a loving dog dad. He loves everyone,” Faye said tearfully. “There’s nothing to question about him.”
Faye and Robert have been together for 14 years. She describes him as a hardworking, positive man with no current criminal record. In 2021, Robert was convicted of a misdemeanor DUI, a charge Faye says was later expunged. A background check conducted by FOX 11 News confirms no active criminal record appears under his name.
Faye claims ICE agents told her that a political shift is behind her husband’s arrest. “They said he was free because the administration was Biden,” she recalled. “And now the administration is Trump and he’s gonna be in our custody.”
Robert has now spent more than 100 days in an ICE detention center in Calexico. According to Faye, her husband has described the conditions as “inhumane” but refuses to sign documents that would surrender his right to remain in the U.S.
“They just want to hold people, detain people,” she said. “Because as a family member, I have to pay for his commissary, the phone calls, his legal services, all of it.”
Faye believes her husband’s detention is part of what she calls a “money-making scheme,” accusing the system of profiting from immigrant families’ suffering. Now, she’s pleading for help.
“I’m asking this administration to release my husband,” she said. “Let him come back and continue his life here.”
We contacted Homeland Security for comment on this case; so far, no one has gotten back to us.
An online fundraiser has been launched to help the family cover legal fees. Those looking to help can click here.
