A heart-wrenching situation has unfolded for a young American family after Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detained the mother, Paola Clouatre, during a routine immigration appointment. Paola’s husband, Adrian Clouatre, a 26-year-old service-disabled US Marine Corps veteran, is now fighting tirelessly for her release. The couple’s life was turned upside down when Paola, who was breastfeeding their 3-month-old daughter, Lyn, was detained on May 27.
Paola, 25, was born in Mexico and arrived in the United States with her mother in 2014. After becoming estranged from her mother, Paola spent her teenage years in homeless shelters. In 2022, Adrian met Paola, and they started dating.
They got married in February 2024 and began the green card process for Paola. However, unbeknownst to them, a deportation order had been issued against Paola in 2018 due to her missing an immigration hearing. The notification had been sent to her mother, who never informed Paola.
During the May 27 appointment, the couple was honest about the deportation order, but despite passing the interview, ICE agents arrested Paola. “We were confident that, since we were married and I was a veteran, they would at least allow us to resolve the deportation order and not detain her,” Adrian said. “We knew the deportation order would probably cause a problem, but we didn’t find out about it until a week before and USCIS refused to let us reschedule, so we had no other choice but to go. … My wife told the truth”.
Adrian has been juggling his work, caring for their children, and making the four-hour drive twice a week to the ICE detention center where Paola is being held. He has also been advocating for the facility to allow Paola to use a breast pump. “I must have been the most annoying husband, but I did it. Now she can pump milk, but she has to throw it away every time. And I try to bring the baby as often as I can so she can breastfeed and continue producing milk,” he said.
Adrian has sent a letter to the White House, begging President Trump to pardon his wife and allow her to apply for a green card. “I desperately miss my wife,” Adrian wrote. “She is my best friend and the love of my life. I am begging you, President Trump, to reunite my family out of respect for our (nation’s) veterans and compassion for an American family torn apart by this merciless deportation system”.
Carey Holliday, the couple’s lawyer and a former immigration judge, has filed a motion to reopen Paola’s deportation order case. “The best thing is to go to the judge who issued the deportation order and explain that the notice was not served to Paola, that she didn’t know about the appointment, and to reopen the process,” Holliday said. “And then we can close it administratively or get the prosecution to dismiss it so she can proceed to adjust her status”.
As the situation unfolds, Adrian’s concerns about Paola’s mental state grow. “She’s trying to stay strong,” he said. “She knows that, you know, the lawyer and I are fighting for her every day. But, well, at the end of the day … it’s a room with a hundred more people. It’s never quiet. They just turn off the lights and they can barely sleep three hours straight.” Paola has started talking to a therapist, who is helping her cope with the situation.