39-year-old man taken into ICE custody during green card interview in LA

LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- A wife is speaking out after her 39-year-old husband was detained by ICE during his green card interview in downtown Los Angeles.

Xelena Diaz said she felt scared and alone, and didn't know what happened when her husband, Taeha Hwang, was taken.

"I couldn't talk to him, I couldn't see him. I was totally blindsided. You see everything on the news, and you just never think that it's gonna be you."

Hwang spoke briefly with Eyewitness News by phone from the Adelanto Detention Center, where he's been since being taken into custody on Oct. 29.

"I wasn't expecting to get arrested. It was very frightening to be honest," he said. "I am very sad and depressed."

Hwang came to the U.S. at 3 months old and has no criminal record. He and his wife of just 10 months, thought they were doing everything right, following the rules and going in for the interview.

Legal experts say a growing number of people are being detained when they come in for their appointments.

"A lot of people are afraid to go to interviews now. They don't want to go or... are making plans for if they get detained," said immigration attorney Habib Hasbani.

The couple says they used their savings to apply for the green card and are now struggling to pay attorneys as they work to get Hwang out on bond.

A GoFundMe account has been set up to help the newlyweds.

The couple is praying they will soon be reunited and able to return to their life together.

"I know he wants to go back to school, and this is something so important to us, so him getting his green card so we can both better our lives and have a family," Diaz said.

His next court hearing is in March 2026.