THOSE FEDERAL EMPLOYEES WILL STILL BE REQUIRED TO WORK WITHOUT PAY. WELL, A LOCAL FATHER DETAINED BY IMMIGRATION OFFICERS NOW AT RISK OF BEING DEPORTED TO ECUADOR DESPITE HAVING NO CONNECTIONS TO THAT COUNTRY. CARLOS GARCIA AND HIS FAMILY CAME TO THE UNITED STATES FOR POLITICAL ASYLUM IN 2022 AFTER FLEEING VENEZUELA IN 2017. HE WAS SERVING AS A MAYOR THERE. HIS FAMILY SAYS GARCIA WAS SCARED FOR HIS LIFE BEING TARGETED FOR SPEAKING OUT AGAINST THEN PRESIDENT NICOLAS MADURO. THE FAMILY HAS BEEN LIVING AND WORKING IN CINCINNATI FOR YEARS, BUT LAST MONTH, GARCIA WAS ARRESTED DURING A ROUTINE CHECK OF HIS IMMIGRATION STATUS.
Former Venezuelan mayor detained in Cincinnati given until Friday for appeal
Updated: 3:51 PM EST Feb 26, 2026
The former mayor of Merida, Venezuela, who was living in Cincinnati for years, could soon be deported to another country.Carlos Garcia and his family came to the United States for political asylum in 2022, after they fled Venezuela in 2017.Garcia, 42, served as a mayor of a city in Venezuela, and his family said he was scared for his life, after he spoke out against then-president Nicolas Maduro.Garcia and his family have been living and working in the Greater Cincinnati area for the last several years, but last month, he was arrested during a routine check of his immigration status.An immigration order gives Garcia until Friday to appeal his deportation to Ecuador. Garcia was taken to the Butler County Jail, where he has been held as his case plays out in court.
CINCINNATI —
The former mayor of Merida, Venezuela, who was living in Cincinnati for years, could soon be deported to another country.
Carlos Garcia and his family came to the United States for political asylum in 2022, after they fled Venezuela in 2017.
Garcia, 42, served as a mayor of a city in Venezuela, and his family said he was scared for his life, after he spoke out against then-president Nicolas Maduro.
Garcia and his family have been living and working in the Greater Cincinnati area for the last several years, but last month, he was arrested during a routine check of his immigration status.
An immigration order gives Garcia until Friday to appeal his deportation to Ecuador.
Garcia was taken to the Butler County Jail, where he has been held as his case plays out in court.