In a case highlighting the human impact of stringent US immigration enforcement, a Lithuanian woman has been held for almost eleven months in an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention center. Tatjana Vesiolko, known as Tia, finds her life and her love story with American fiancé Al Dallasta frozen in bureaucratic limbo.
A Detention Without Clear Cause
Tatjana Vesiolko, 38, entered the United States in 2009 under the visa waiver program but overstayed. Despite having no criminal record, a valid passport, and being from a country that accepts deported nationals—factors that usually prevent major hurdles—she was detained shortly after Donald Trump became president and introduced strict immigration orders. Her fiancé, 43-year-old Al Dallasta, remains in the dark about the precise reason for her prolonged detention, which far exceeds the norm for similar cases.
The Department of Homeland Security stated that her removal was delayed because she might be part of a class-action lawsuit. Crucially, she was never informed of this nor given an opportunity to opt out, leaving her to wonder if her case is a mistake or if officials have simply lost her file. Under the Trump administration, immigration detention has hit record levels, with over 65,000 people in long-term custody.
The Emotional and Financial Toll
The extended confinement has severely affected both Tia and Dallasta. Confined with very limited outdoor time, Tia is struggling mentally and physically. Dallasta, grappling with worsening anxiety, quit his job and has exhausted his life savings fighting her case.
His financial burdens are staggering: he has paid $22,000 in legal fees, over $6,370 in phone bills, and $2,000 for commissary costs to support her in detention. He is desperate for her release before Christmas, a hope that grows dimmer with each passing day.
A Valentine's Day Romance Interrupted
Their love story began in 2024 on Facebook, shortly after Dallasta's divorce. After connecting online, they met that same night and became inseparable. Six months later, tragedy struck on their return from a first vacation to Puerto Rico. On Valentine's Day, Tia was detained at the San Juan airport. Agents told Dallasta she would be deported.
He initially believed she would return to Lithuania within days and went home alone. There, he broke down after reading the Valentine's card she had left for him. "There are so many paths life can take. The fact that you and I found each other in a whole world of people is not a coincidence," Tia had written.
Immigration policy expert Jessica Vaughan, director of policy at the Center for Immigration Studies, told USA Today that the case reflects systemic pressures. "There is no question that ICE and its partners have been making more arrests than can be efficiently processed for removal. It sounds like a case of someone who slipped through the cracks," she said. As Tia's detention stretches on, her story stands as a stark testament to the personal crises unfolding within a vast immigration enforcement system.
