Donald Trump‘s immigration crackdown has sparked widespread tension in the United States. From facing harsh ICE actions to wrongful deportations, immigrants have been struggling to stay safe. And now, a woman has been scammed out of $10K while trying to get her fiancé out of ICE detention.
Yadira Chavez lost a huge amount of money to a con artist who allegedly posed as a lawyer. Her fiancé, Giovani Flores Garcia, was among more than 600 detainees a federal judge ordered released by Friday. The court cited that their arrests were unlawful and violated a direct order. According to CBS News, on the list, only 16 people are considered high risk to public safety with an alleged criminal history.
Only 16 of over 600 detained by ICE in Chicago area have criminal histories, records show. https://t.co/nffxUCDebq
— CBS News (@CBSNews) November 15, 2025
Garcia is considered low risk, and her fiancé confirmed that she has no criminal background. “He’s a really hard-working man. He’s the one who takes care of us,” said Chavez, who shares a 2-year-old daughter and another 7-month-old baby with him.
While revealing how she got scammed, the woman shared how her fiancé was arrested in the first place. According to her, Garcia was arrested by ICE agents on September 29 in Willow Springs, when he was heading for work. According to Chavez, ICE agents detained him without presenting a warrant. “He said, ‘Chavez,’ it’s not the police, it’s ICE, they are taking me.’ I was like, ‘Oh my God,'” she recounted while tearing up.
Chavez, however, confirmed that Garcia moved to the United States from Mexico 5 years ago, and he was undocumented without any work permit. He was taken to the Broadview processing center and then moved to a facility in Michigan. The woman then revealed that they got an attorney for him, but “everything was just fraud. So they just stole all our money.”
According to Chavez, a woman named Lizette Sierra, who claimed to be a Miami-based immigration lawyer, came to their aid. However, she turned out to be a scammer, stealing about $10,000 from the desperate family.
The federal government has until noon Friday to release 13 detainees in Chicago after a judge ruled they were being held in violation of a consent decree that prevents ICE from making arrests without a warrant. As many as 600 people could be released by next week.… pic.twitter.com/YUv5TBXyXn
— NewsNation (@NewsNation) November 14, 2025
The suburban fiancé continued that her fiancé was on the list of the 600 detainees ordered to be released. “I was so happy I saw his name in there, but at the same time, what is the next step? We don’t know what the next step is, what we have to do.”
She continued, “I feel sure, but at the same time, I feel scared because of what happened with the fraud.” She also shared a video warning people about the scammer they fell for.
The detainees scheduled for release were due back in court Friday. The federal judge decided to release them from detention on bond.
