A Colombian congresswoman and public supporter of Donald Trump is pleading for the intervention of President Gustavo Petro’s government after her son was reportedly “chained” and detained in “inhumane conditions” by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
Angela Maria Vergara, a member of the House of Representatives for the department of Bolivar and a staunch conservative, announced on social media that her son, Rafael Alfonso Vergara, has been held for 18 days in a Louisiana detention facility. According to Vergara, her son entered the United States legally, possessing a valid Social Security number and work permit, and was awaiting a 2028 asylum hearing before being apprehended in what she described as a “snatch” operation.
“He is imprisoned and chained in inhumane conditions,” Vergara wrote in an emotional post. “He is a person who was waiting for the resolution of his legal situation.”
A conservative dilemma
The detention has sparked a political firestorm in Colombia, where Vergara is known for her “far-right” political stances and her vocal admiration for President Trump’s “America First” agenda.
Critics online have highlighted the irony of a legislator who often advocates for strict national security and conservative values finding her own family ensnared in the aggressive enforcement tactics she has historically supported. However, supporters of the congresswoman argue that the media’s “Trump ally” label is misleading, noting that while she shares ideological overlaps with the US Republican Party, she maintains no direct personal relationship with the American president.
🇨🇴🇺🇸 Bir hafta önce ICE'nin Kolombiyalı vatandaşları tutuklamasını öven Trump yanlısı Kolombiyalı milletvekili Angela Vergara, bu sefer ICE yetkililerinin oğlunu tutuklaması nedeniyle göz yaşlarına boğuldu.pic.twitter.com/Utu8wNRfFb
— Milli direniş™ (@Milli_direnis) February 15, 2026
Vergara has called upon the Petro administration, a government she frequently opposes, to ensure her son’s safe return, citing unspecified health conditions that she claims make his continued detention life-threatening.
Surge in lethal enforcement by ICE
The Vergara case unfolds against a backdrop of escalating violence and controversy surrounding “Operation Metro Surge,” a nationwide immigration crackdown. Since September, federal immigration officers have shot 13 people during deportation operations.
The most recent fatal incidents occurred in Minneapolis, where federal agents killed two US citizens in separate encounters last month: Renée Nicole Good, 37, A mother of three who was shot on January 7 while observing a federal convoy and Alex Jeffrey Pretti, also 37 A VA intensive care nurse who was shot in the back on January 24 while filming agents during a protest.
In both cases, Department of Homeland Security (DHS) officials claimed the officers acted in self-defense against “domestic terrorists,” though widely circulated bystander videos have challenged those narratives.
The “One Big Beautiful Bill” funding cushion
The aggressive pace of detentions and raids continues despite a partial shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security that began last week. While other agencies like the TSA face operational strain due to a funding lapse triggered by congressional disagreements over oversight, ICE remains largely “shutdown-proof.”
This resilience is due to the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA), a massive legislative package signed by President Trump on July 4, 2025. The act provided ICE with approximately $75 billion in multi-year supplemental funding, nearly seven times its typical annual budget. This financial cushion allows the agency to maintain and expand its detention capacity to over 125,000 beds regardless of the annual appropriations process.
As of Monday, ICE has not publicly commented on the detention of Rafael Alfonso Vergara. The Colombian Ministry of Foreign Affairs is reportedly reviewing the congresswoman’s request for diplomatic intervention.