U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement took William Lizardo, a Canadian-born dentist, into ICE custody during a green card interview in downtown Minneapolis on Friday, his wife said. The arrest came as he and Lauren Lizardo sought another chance at permanent residency.
Lauren Lizardo said she learned what happened from David Whalen, the couple’s attorney, who attended the interview and witnessed the detention. She described it as the worst fear she had never expected to face.
Whalen told her that the woman conducting the interview stood up when the conversation ended, left the room, then returned with two ICE agents. They took Lizardo into custody.
The interview had not raised an alarm for the family. They say they had been keeping records and checking his immigration case online.
A pending green card case does not itself stop an arrest
A scheduled interview, marriage to a U.S. citizen or pending Form I-485 does not, by itself, prevent an arrest. An application alone does not give someone lawful immigration status, though a pending case can affect some immigration calculations.
Chien-Yu Michael Wang, a managing lawyer at Wilner & O'Reilly, said eligibility for a green card and exposure to enforcement are separate questions. He said applicants may face particular concern if they are removable, have a criminal record, or lack current lawful status and the application cannot be approved immediately.
“Those are related questions, but they are not the same question”
Wang said U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services may refer information to ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations in some cases. Spouses of U.S. citizens are typically allowed to seek adjustment inside the country despite a visa overstay, and most interviews proceed without incident.
The couple says the notice went to a Virginia home they had left
The Lizardos said they first learned on Friday that an immigration judge had issued a deportation order after Will did not appear in response to a notice to appear. Lauren Lizardo said the notice was mailed in February to a Virginia address the couple had left more than two years earlier.
“We had no way of knowing there was this notice to appear, but they still detained him because he didn't appear to something we didn't know was happening,” Lizardo said.
The couple learned in January of this year that his earlier green card application had been denied. Lauren Lizardo had sponsored him. They had tried to apply after graduation without an attorney because they could not afford one, then made another attempt with legal representation.
They met at the University of Minnesota School of Dentistry and married shortly after graduation. Lizardo has not been allowed to work, his wife said, but has volunteered at a low-cost dental clinic in Burnsville, Minnesota. They are raising an 18-month-old daughter.
“We thought we were doing everything right; the attorney said we were doing everything right. He said we would have no problem getting a green card,” Lauren Lizardo said.
Other reports describe arrests in several offices, with differing accounts of the pattern
Attorneys and local media documented arrests at the San Diego USCIS office beginning around Nov. 12, 2025. The cases included military spouses and applicants with no criminal history, according to accounts of the arrests.
Attorney advisories later described similar cases in Los Angeles, San Bernardino, San Francisco and Salt Lake City. At least one arrest at the Salt Lake City field office was on the record in early December 2025. Attorney Habib Hasbini said at the time that the pattern appeared specific to San Diego.
An ICE spokesman has said arrests at USCIS offices may involve people who overstayed visas or are otherwise removable. Immigration lawyers have described the arrests as a departure from past practice, when applicants in those circumstances were rarely detained.
In Maryland, U.S. District Judge George J. Hazel issued an injunction in February barring federal immigration officers in the state from using marriage interviews to arrest or deport undocumented immigrants. The order also required ICE to release people detained before completing the first step of the marriage process. Nick Steiner, an ACLU of Maryland staff attorney, said the practice continued elsewhere and was being challenged jurisdiction by jurisdiction.
Whalen said he would ask for Lizardo's release
Whalen said Friday that he planned to file an emergency motion seeking Lizardo’s release. As of Friday night, ICE had not acknowledged a request for information about the detention.
Lauren Lizardo said the family had kept careful records and checked the online immigration portal for his case every day. Her husband had attended fingerprinting in recent months, she said, and USCIS communications had reached them at their current home in Victoria, Minnesota. She said no one had raised the deportation order or missed hearing with them.
“I want a fair chance and I want to be treated with compassion and kindness. I feel like I haven't been given that opportunity, and Will hasn't either,” Lauren Lizardo said.
This article provides general information and is not legal advice. Consult a qualified immigration attorney about your specific case.
