A Peruvian national seeking asylum was detained by federal immigration agents despite having a pending green-card application, her wife told Newsweek.Xiomara Suarez-Marin, 29, was taken into custody by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) during a scheduled appointment at a U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) office in Los Angeles in late September, Grazielli Chiosky de Sousa said.She said her wife had applied for a marital green card, and the couple had been awaiting progress on the case when she was detained at what was supposed to be a routine appointment related to her asylum process. Suarez-Marin fled Peru because of her sexuality.“She stayed three hours until somebody actually came with two other officers and told her that she would have to be detained. And she was like, I don't understand because I have a status adjustment,” Chiosky de Sousa told Newsweek by phone. "The officer told her this is normal procedure, but I never heard of ICE detaining someone with a status adjustment."...Tricia McLaughlin, a spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security, told Newsweek: “On September 26, ICE arrested Xiomara Suarez-Marin, an illegal alien from Peru who entered the country via the southwest border in November 2022 and was released into the U.S. under the Biden administration. To be clear, a pending USCIS application does not grant aliens permission to remain illegally in the U.S."Amid reports of migrants with pending green-card applications being taken into custody during routine immigration appointments, the Trump administration has moved to expand enforcement and ramp up removals under a hardline mass-deportation strategy. More immigrants who previously would have been allowed to continue their cases outside ICE detention are now being arrested during standard check-ins or interviews.USCIS has announced that it will review green-card applications for people who have immigrated to the U.S. from 19 countries. Following the shooting of two National Guard members in Washington, D.C., President Donald Trump pledged to "permanently pause migration" from certain nations.Suarez-Marin entered the United States in 2022 under humanitarian parole, her partner said. She had complied with all ICE check-ins, including a meeting in August 2025, when an officer acknowledged her pending status adjustment, according to her wife."We literally just need the government to approve the green card. We have no criminal records. We didn't do anything illegal," Chiosky de Sousa said.The Notice to Appear served to Suarez-Marin claimed that she entered the U.S. illegally without parole, her wife said. Chiosky de Sousa disputes this, noting that she had proper documentation during the appointment.Suarez-Marin remains in federal custody at the Adelanto Detention Center in Adelanto, California, according to online ICE detainee records. Her next immigration court hearing is scheduled for January 28, while her rescheduled USCIS appointment is set for January 13, Chiosky de Sousa said."I can't wait for things to go back to normal," Chiosky de Sousa, "but I can't even tell you what normal is now."