A man said he is unsure of his wife’s future after she was detained by immigration authorities in McAllen.

“Losing your freedom, you are not OK when you lose your freedom," Milenko Faria said.

Faria is the husband of Dr. Rubeliz Bolivar, a Venezuelan doctor who worked at South Texas Health System in McAllen.

As previously reported, Bolivar was at the McAllen International Airport on Saturday to fly to California for an immigration hearing when she was detained alongside the couple's 5-year-old daughter, who is an American citizen.

Faria said his wife was proud to care for the community after a year of living in the Rio Grande Valley.

"She's in love with the Valley, she loves helping people," Faria said.

Faria spoke with Channel 5 News via Zoom from Santa Maria, California. He said it's been a long three days for Faria since his wife's detainment.

"For me the days are kind of off because I've been awake for 20 hours," Faria said. 

Bolivar is being detained at the El Valle Detention Facility in Raymondville. 

"She's asking, ‘how's my mom? How's my sister? How's my daughter?" Faria said, adding that he spoke with her on Monday night.

"We are outside. We're doing OK. We are worried about you," he told her.

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Faria said he's worried Bolivar will miss her immigration hearing, set for later this week

In a statement to Channel 5 News, U.S. Customs and Border Protection said Bolivar overstayed her visa, which expired in 2017.

Faria says that's only part of the story.

"My wife, she has a real ID, but also she has a work permit. I also have an adjustment of status pending, which is the green card process," Faria said.

That's what he says his wife told federal officers at the airport, but Faria said that wasn't enough to stop her detention.

Faria says they entered the U.S. legally in 2016 with a tourist visa and claimed asylum six months later.

Both received permission to live and work legally and later received temporary protected status.

That ended last year when the Trump administration canceled those protections.

Faria says they've been waiting six years for a decision on their green cards.

"For the government to only focus on the fact that her visa expired is not genuine," immigration attorney Carlos Garcia said.

Garcia is not connected to the case. He says work authorization should have helped verify Bolivar's status as an asylum seeker.

"The government shouldn't just be allowed to detain whoever they want without allowing them due process," Garcia said, noting that federal authorities can detain people without lawful status.

The couple’s 5-year-old daughter is with Faria in California as he waits for answers.

"Until she is free, I'm not going to rest," Faria said.

Watch the video above for the full story.