Barreno L\u00f3pez arrived in the United States from Spain on November 4, 2017. He decided to cross to the other side of the world, first because he had lost his job at a call shop more than a year earlier. \u201cThere was a lot of unemployment, and I had been laid off,\u201d he recalls. Second, because he fell in love with Leticia Centeno, a Nicaraguan woman passing through Madrid. When Centeno returned to her country and later moved to the United States, Barreno L\u00f3pez followed her. He entered on a tourist visa that he overstayed, and his visit turned into nearly 10 years living as an undocumented immigrant in a country that is now aggressively pursuing anyone without papers on its streets.<\/p>\n
Barreno L\u00f3pez does not fit the racial profile ICE typically targets when its agents patrol migrant neighborhoods or wait outside immigration courts in cities like New York or Miami. He is white; he does not have the stereotypical appearance of a Latin American migrant. In fact, he never imagined it would happen to him: \u201cAlthough I was a little wary with this president, I didn\u2019t think I\u2019d be arrested like this just leaving my apartment. It caught me completely by surprise.\u201d<\/p>\n
On October 18, 2025, at 6:30 a.m., Barreno L\u00f3pez was on his way to the Indian food factory where he worked near the city of Carol Stream, west of Chicago, in the state of Illinois, where he lived with Centeno. Because he was one of the few workers in the apartment complex who owned a car, he always drove Centeno\u2019s son\u2011in\u2011law and two of his brothers, all Nicaraguans. About five minutes from home, they were, according to Centeno, \u201cambushed.\u201d<\/p>\n
A vehicle carrying federal agents followed them and pulled them over. The four men were initially taken to the Clay County Detention Center in Indiana. The three Nicaraguan citizens requested voluntary departure<\/a> from the United States and were eventually returned to their country. In November, before an immigration judge, Barreno L\u00f3pez also requested voluntary departure. He wanted to return to Spain.<\/p>\n \u201cHe says this is too much humiliation for him, that no one in his life has ever done this to him,\u201d says his partner, Centeno.<\/p>\n Then Barreno L\u00f3pez was transferred to Kentucky. \u201cTo this day I\u2019m still here, not knowing anything,\u201d he says over the phone, notably desperate. \u201cThey\u2019re keeping me here to see how long I can take it, but what I want is to go back to my country now. I feel like, being Spanish, they\u2019ve forgotten about me. And the consulate should be the first to help me.\u201d<\/p>\n His word against the consulate\u2019s<\/p>\n \u201cHow can Miguel be locked up if he hasn\u2019t done anything wrong and has already requested to be released?\u201d Centeno has wondered all these months. His partner, she says, never \u201cgets into trouble, doesn\u2019t look for fights, and doesn\u2019t go around drinking.\u201d<\/p>\n A few years ago, when they started a new life in the United States, Barreno L\u00f3pez bought a car and was pulled over by a police officer as they were returning from work at midnight for not having a driver\u2019s license. \u201cThat was the only traffic violation Miguel had in all these years he\u2019s been in this country,\u201d Centeno says. On that occasion, he was summoned to court, and he immediately obtained his license.<\/p>\n The couple had previously considered ways to regularize their status in the United States<\/a>, but in Barreno L\u00f3pez\u2019s case, being a Spanish citizen, he had been warned that it was nearly impossible to apply for political asylum. \u201cThey told us that, being European, I didn\u2019t have a situation like the one in Nicaragua, or like the one Venezuelans have. That\u2019s why we never applied,\u201d the woman says.<\/p>\n By the end of last year, Barreno L\u00f3pez was counting down the days until he could leave the detention center. The anguish was consuming him. His partner, unsure how or where to seek help, thought the solution might lie with the Spanish Consulate General in Chicago: \u201cI called, and they told me they couldn\u2019t do anything. I said, \u2018But why is that? I imagine that if you\u2019re here as the Spanish consulate, it\u2019s to look after the well-being of Spanish citizens.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n She contacted the Spanish consular authorities again on another occasion. \u201cI\u2019m very sorry, but we can\u2019t do anything because ICE has him,\u201d they told her, Centeno says. \u201cSo what are you doing here?\u201d she replied. On a third attempt, a man answered her in a \u201cvery rude\u201d manner, according to Centeno. He told her, \u201cIf you\u2019re not his wife, I can\u2019t give you any information about him. I\u2019m very sorry, but if you\u2019re not his wife, you have no reason to call us.\u201d<\/p>\n EL PA\u00cdS contacted the Spanish consulate in Chicago seeking clarification on the case. The Subdirectorate\u2011General of the Office of Diplomatic Information (OID) at Spain\u2019s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation said in an email on Saturday that \u201cthe consulate has been in contact with the individual concerned and has offered him the appropriate consular assistance.\u201d<\/p>\n Spanish diplomatic sources in the United States also said that in November 2025, Barreno L\u00f3pez was offered a safe\u2011conduct document to travel back to Spain, but he did not contact the consulate again after that. With this document, which certifies his identity and nationality, the Spaniard \u2014 whose passport has expired \u2014 would be able to travel to his country.<\/p>\n Barreno L\u00f3pez says that no one has \u201cever\u201d offered him the option of safe passage. \u201cI haven\u2019t received an email or a letter at any point. I haven\u2019t had any contact with the consulate, nor have they contacted me, nothing like that,\u201d he says from the detention center. \u201cIt\u2019s been six months now, and no one has lifted a finger for me. It\u2019s too long, half a year illegally detained here. It\u2019s very frustrating.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"Miguel](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/ZVC5V5UCQFELLB6ZZGFV5LLLEE.jpg\")
Miguel Barreno L\u00f3pez (right), in Kentucky.Cedida<\/p>\n