Woman With Green Card Detained by ICE After 14 Years in US, Boyfriend Says
Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content.
A Colombian immigrant and green-card holder who has lived in Oklahoma for more than a decade and has American children has been detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), according to her boyfriend.
Newsweek reached out to ICE via email for comment.
A GoFundMe was recently created to help raise funds for legal fees pertaining to the detainment of Daniela Villada Restrepo, who lives in Oklahoma City and works in health care. She has three children, all born in the U.S. She is a lawful permanent resident, meaning she has a green card.
Why It Matters
Restrepo's case underscores more widespread concerns by immigrants and attorneys warning caution about potential arrest and detainment, even to those without criminal records. Newsweek could not verify whether Restrepo has any type of criminal background.
President Donald Trump has pledged to launch the largest mass deportation operation in U.S. history, and immigrants residing in the country illegally and legally, with valid documentation such as green cards and visas, have been detained. Newsweek has reported dozens of cases involving green-card holders and applicants who were swept up in raids and various arrests.
ICE agents detain immigrants and asylum seekers reporting for immigration court proceedings at the Jacob K. Javits Federal Building's U.S. Immigration Court in New York City on July 24, 2025.
ICE agents detain immigrants and asylum seekers reporting for immigration court proceedings at the Jacob K. Javits Federal Building's U.S. Immigration Court in New York City on July 24, 2025.
DOMINIC GWINN/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images
What To Know
According to her boyfriend, Scott Sperber, ICE agents detained Restrepo on April 12 when she missed a mandatory mental health court appointment, incurring a warrant. ICE records show that she is being held at the Prairieland Detention Center in Alvarado, Texas, which Sperber claims is unable to provide her mental health therapy.
Her Facebook page says she is originally from Medellín, Antioquia, in Colombia.
"Daniela has since been held in an ICE detention center located in Alvarado, Texas, unable to complete her mental health therapy," Sperber wrote on the GoFundMe page he started on July 23. "Prior to this detainment, Daniela has legally lived in America for almost 14 years. She was married to an American citizen for almost 10 years, and she has three children living in the United States that are American citizens."
Newsweek reached out to Sperber via the GoFundMe page for comment.
As of the afternoon of August 4, the page had received just two donations totaling $80.
Sperber described his girlfriend as a "wonderful mother and wonderful companion who has had some trials in her life with abusive relationships. She has been fighting to heal and progress."
She has worked for the Oklahoma State Health Department for nearly five years and as director of patient care services at The Bilingual Clinic PLLC, a business started by her ex-husband and father of her children.
"She is bilingual and has always strived to help provide the best care for those here in America with language barriers," Sperber said. "She has a character that is caring and loving. Daniela wants, above all, to continue living here legally in the United States so she may care for her children and experience the joy of watching them grow up as any parent would."
Daniela's Facebook and Instagram accounts use the name "Daniela Deweber," writing in a March post on Facebook: "Daniela Villada Restrepo is the name my parents gave me, Daniela Deweber is my married name."
The GoFundMe was started by Sperber because of legal fees associated with Restrepo's hopeful release, as well as limited funds due to multiple health situations.
What People Are Saying
ICE, on X on August 4: "ICE is targeting illegal aliens, not law-abiding citizens."
What Happens Next
A lawyer has been hired in Restrepo's case.
Sperber, who said he is just starting to recover financially following an automobile accident, is also his grandfather's sole caregiver. The grandfather receives medical treatment for skin cancer.
"With all of these overbearing aspects of financial life at play, I do not have the adequate funds to pay for her legal fees, her awarded bond, nor to pay her attorney to continue the fight," Sperber said. "Also, I don't have adequate financial means to pay for all my grandfather's health-related financial obligations.
"I am living day by day, one step at a time, and it has become so overwhelming I am finally choosing to ask for help."
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