Marcos Gaspar-Da Silva, a Brazilian national who has been married to a U.S. citizen for three years and has filed a green card application, spent almost seven months in ICE detention before an immigration judge granted him lawful permanent resident status earlier this month.

Gaspar-Da Silva, who has been reunited with his family since mid-August, said he is still grappling with the psychological toll of the experience, telling the Portland Press Herald after his release, "I was waiting for some emotions, but I don't have emotions.”

He has repeatedly described conditions at the ICE detention facilities where he was held as unsanitary and overcrowded. He told reporters that detainees faced limited access to basic hygiene, poor-quality food and drinking water, and inadequate medical care during his months in custody.

A Department of Homeland Security (DHS) spokesperson told Newsweek in an email Thursday, “The claims Gaspar-Da Silva made regarding detention conditions are greatly exaggerated,” adding, “ICE maintains detention standards that are higher than those of most U.S. prisons holding actual U.S. citizens.”

Gaspar-Da Silva’s case comes as President Donald Trump has pledged to launch the largest mass deportation operation in U.S. history. The administration's enforcement efforts have led to the detention of immigrants across a range of legal statuses, including some valid green card holders and visa holders, prompting legal challenges and criticism from immigration advocates.

Administration officials have said the enforcement efforts are necessary to uphold immigration laws, arguing that previous administrations did not enforce them properly.

Newsweek has reached out to his wife, Alessia, for comment via GoFundMe on Thursday.

What To Know About Marcos Gaspar-Da Silva’s Detention?

Gaspar-Da Silva, a Brazilian asylum seeker, was detained by ICE officers early on January 20 while driving to work in Portland. According to his wife, he had stopped to pick up a worker when federal agents pulled over his vehicle and took both men into custody. DHS did not reply to Newsweek’s question inquiring about the reason for his detention. Newsweek could not locate any criminal record for Gaspar-Da Silva.

After his arrest, Gaspar-Da Silva was moved between detention facilities in several states, including Massachusetts and Arizona.

Gaspar-Da Silva, 33, came to the United States from Brazil in 2021 after receiving threats that he said stemmed from his work as a civil attorney, according to his wife and court filings cited by local media. His wife said on a GoFundMe page established on his behalf that he fled after “facing fear for his life and harm.”

In 2019, as an attorney, he took on a land dispute case involving competing ownership claims and later said he was threatened by individuals connected to the matter. In a sworn affidavit submitted with his asylum application, he wrote: "I feared that they would finally carry out their threats and kill me,” the Portland Press Harald reported.

After he left Brazil, relatives were targeted in violent attacks, according to Gaspar-Da Silva. He has said one family member was shot in the face and another was later killed, incidents he cited as reinforcing his fears about returning to the country.

Alessia stated in the GoFundMe, “Marcos had a credible fear screening and our government, found it positive, he complied with the legal process, received parole. Though a clerical error was done saying no parole was checked off on the credible fear screening, he was also given a paper with his picture stating here is your parole.”

“He has never been ordered to return to Brazil, and there are no warrants,” she stated.

The couple married in 2023 and filed an I-130 petition in 2024, initiating the process for Gaspar-Da Silva to obtain a green card through his marriage to a U.S. citizen. That application was still being processed in January when he was detained, and by June it was approved, according to the Portland Press Herald.

A habeas corpus petition filed in Massachusetts federal court in August is still ongoing, according to court documents reviewed by Newsweek.

Gaspar-Da Silva's case drew attention from several elected officials and political figures, including Arizona Democratic congressional candidate Elizabeth Lee, who visited him while he was detained at the Florence Correctional Complex.

Representative Chellie Pingree, a Maine Democrat, celebrated his return in an August 16 Facebook post, writing, “I’m grateful to everyone who fought for Marcos, including members of my staff who stood by Alessia through this horrible ordeal, helped expedite her petition to bring him home, and pressed detention officials for the medical care Marcos was being denied. At a time when good news can be hard to come by, victories like this feel especially sweet.”

When Was Marcos Gaspar-Da Silva Released from ICE Detention?

A DHS spokesperson told Newsweek that Gaspar-Da Silva was released from ICE custody on August 13 "as a result of an immigration judge order."

“Marcos was granted Adjustment of Status, which means he is now a legal permanent resident,” Alessia said in an August 13 update. Newsweek has contacted the Florence Immigration Court seeking records related to the ruling.

ICE agents reportedly dropped him without his phone and driver’s license at Iglesia Cristiana El Buen Pastor, the Phoenix New Times reported.

Gaspar-Da Silva said the emotional reunion he had imagined when seeing his family again never came. He expected to cry when he saw his wife at the airport and again when he reunited with his 11-year-old daughter. Instead, he said he felt emotionally numb after nearly seven months in immigration detention.

“I was waiting for some emotions, but I don’t have emotions,” he told the Portland Press Herald. “I’m happy, but I don’t feel happy.”

He is now easing back into life and seeing a Portuguese-speaking therapist, according to his wife and local media reports.

This week, the couple visited a U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services office in South Portland so Gaspar-Da Silva could complete the photo and fingerprinting requirements for his green card.

Reported Conditions in ICE Detention

During his months in ICE custody, Gaspar-Da Silva and his wife repeatedly raised concerns about his health and detention conditions. On a GoFundMe page and in interviews with local media, his wife alleged that he developed a fungal rash that spread across his body, which she attributed to unsanitary conditions and inadequate medical care.

She also said, “Marcos reported a tooth issue on Feb 5th and abscess and infection again on Feb 9th, he was told he would have to wait 2 to 3 months for removal, no antibiotics have been given.” Newsweek has been able to independently verify these details.

In interviews following his release, Gaspar-Da Silva described conditions in detention as difficult, alleging inadequate food, medical care and sanitation. At Arizona Removal Operations Coordination Center (AROCC), a short-term holding facility at the Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport, he said he was denied a shower or change of clothes and slept on the floor. He also claimed an overflowing toilet disposed of fecal matter on the ground.

“They don’t have food for everybody. There’s no meat, only water,” he told The Phoenix New Times. At some point he says he lost about 26 pounds in detention, later regaining it.

A DHS spokesperson told Newsweek in response to Gaspar-Da Silva’s allegations, “ICE operates detention facilities under performance-based national detention standards, and external agencies regularly audit and inspect these facilities to ensure compliance.”

The statement continued, “ICE provides all detainees with three meals a day, clean water, clothing, bedding, showers, toiletries, and access to phones for communication with family members and legal representatives. Certified dieticians evaluate all meals to ensure proper nutrition. ICE provides comprehensive care—including medical, dental, and mental health services—from the moment an individual enters custody.”

With regard to AROCC specifically, the DHS said ICE confirms the overcrowding allegations are false. “AROCC serves as a staging facility where individuals wait temporarily for their flight to a destination country or another detention facility. Facility staff immediately relocate detainees and initiate maintenance if a toilet issue occurs, though there are no recurring plumbing problems. ICE maintains detention standards that are higher than those of most U.S. prisons holding actual U.S. citizens.”

Other former detainees have reported difficult conditions in several ICE detention facilities.

Immigration Enforcement in Maine

Gaspar-Da Silva's detention came amid a major immigration enforcement push in Maine. In January, the DHS announced "Operation Catch of the Day," an immigration operation centered on the Portland area that resulted in numerous arrests. During the operation, federal officials said they were targeting people in the country unlawfully, including individuals with criminal histories.

The operation drew criticism from several Maine Democrats, including Governor Janet Mills, who questioned aspects of the enforcement effort and called for greater transparency from federal authorities.

Immigration enforcement actions in Maine faced renewed scrutiny in July following the fatal shooting of Joan Sebastian Durán Guerrero during an ICE operation in Biddeford. Durán Guerrero, a married father of a 3-year-old daughter who was authorized to work in the United States, was not the target of the administrative warrant being executed, according to Senator Angus King, who said DHS officials later confirmed that fact to him.

Green Card Marriages

Marriage to a U.S. citizen remains a common route to obtaining a green card. Marriage-based green cards allow foreign-born spouses of U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents to obtain permanent residency in the United States. Spouses of U.S. citizens are classified as "immediate relatives," making them exempt from annual visa caps.

DHS data show that about 343,000 spouses of U.S. citizens obtained lawful permanent residence in fiscal year 2024, accounting for about half the green cards issued to "immediate relatives of U.S. citizens." Overall, about 1.36 million people became lawful permanent residents across all admission classes that year.

Contact Newsweek editors on this story: Jason Lemon and Gray R. Thomas