Pregnant Venezuelan Woman Detained by ICE in Texas After Buying Her Wedding Dress

Pregnant woman detained by ICE, it alters her plans

Migration control in McAllen

Asylum request at risk

A four-month-pregnant Venezuelan woman was detained by the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency as she returned from buying her wedding dress in Texas.

The case has become a new example of the tightening immigration policies under the administration of Donald Trump.

Isabel Urdaneta Hernández was traveling with her fiancé, Manuel Alejandro López, toward Dallas after visiting McAllen to buy the wedding dress she planned to wear before the birth of their first daughter.

On the way back to Dallas, the couple encountered an interior immigration checkpoint in the McAllen area, a common type of inspection point in the Rio Grande Valley.

Pregnant woman detained by ICE in Texas

Pregnant and happy, she was returning from buying her wedding dress. But she crossed paths with immigration agents. https://t.co/zxvGW3Fi0N

— CNN en Español (@CNNEE) December 5, 2025

According to her cousin, Alejandra Urdaneta, who spoke to CNN, Border Patrol stopped the vehicle and asked for their documents.

After reviewing them, the family recounted hearing the words that changed everything: “I’m sorry, but you are detained.”

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First, both were taken to a Border Patrol facility for an initial evaluation.

Isabel Urdaneta Hernández was then transferred to a Texas ICE detention center in the Valley.

Manuel Alejandro López remained detained at the first facility where they had been taken.

What authorities say

Pregnant woman detained by immigration receives no food or medical care, her family claims.

By Lidia Terrazas.

Details https://t.co/34BqQ2uyFh pic.twitter.com/gkqwJeT0kl

— Univision Noticias (@UniNoticias) November 24, 2025

US Customs and Border Protection, consulted by CNN, stated that Isabel Urdaneta Hernández and Manuel Alejandro López had entered the United States legally.

However, they said the couple did not comply with their visa conditions or the authorized period of stay.

Both are Venezuelans with pending asylum applications.

According to the family, they have lived in the country for years and built a small bakery business.

They also have formal jobs that have supported their life in the United States.

The family emphasized that the two have valid work permits.

They also possess active driver’s licenses.

They have no criminal record beyond minor traffic violations.

The life they had built

Alejandra Urdaneta stressed that neither of them crossed the border irregularly.

She explained that both arrived by plane and established their life in the country.

The couple hoped to marry before the birth of their first daughter.

Their trip to McAllen had only one purpose: to buy the wedding dress.

The immigration checkpoint disrupted that plan and opened a process they are now facing from separate detention centers.

The family continues seeking answers about the future of Isabel Urdaneta Hernández and Manuel Alejandro López as their immigration case moves forward.