Venezuelan asylum seeker detained en route to work, files habeas petition
Feb 26, 2026·Location: Madison, ME
Country of origin: Venezuela

Yubizay del Carmen Torrealba Linarez, a 20-year-old Venezuelan single mother, was detained by U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents on Wednesday while traveling to her job at Backyard Farms greenhouses in Madison. She fled political violence in Venezuela after her family experienced violent repression by the Maduro regime, including a 2024 home invasion where agents beat her husband and threatened her 2-year-old daughter. She was paroled into the United States in December 2024 and has been awaiting an asylum decision. Her attorney filed a habeas corpus petition in federal court challenging the legality of her detention; a judge ordered her kept in Maine pending review and ordered the government to respond by Wednesday. Since her detention, her sister has been caring for her 4-year-old daughter.
Sources
- Single mother among those detained in Skowhegan immigration raid
centralmaine.com·Feb 27, 2026·archived copy
- Maine mother reunites with her daughter after ICE arrest, but their future remains uncertain
- A mother in Biddeford reunites with her daughter after ICE arrest, but their future remains uncertain
WSHU·Feb 5, 2026·archived copy
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