MINNEAPOLIS, Minnesota — A Canadian-born dentist, William Lizardo, was taken into U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody at his green-card interview in downtown Minneapolis on Friday, his wife Lauren Lizardo and the couple's attorney told WCCO-TV. The family says the arrest rested on a removal order they say they never knew existed.

Source: WCCO-TV via EuropeSays

Attorney David Whalen, who was present at the interview, told WCCO that the interviewing officer left the room at the end of the conversation and returned with two ICE agents. Whalen called Lizardo probably the best green-card candidate he had ever had and said, according to the reporting, that the government had made a mistake. Lauren Lizardo said it was her worst fear, one she never thought would happen.

Source: WCCO-TV via EuropeSays

According to the family and their attorney, Lizardo's first application was denied in January 2026 and the couple refiled with legal help. Meanwhile, a notice to appear in immigration court was mailed in February to an old Virginia address the family says they had left more than two years earlier; Lizardo never appeared, and a removal order followed, the family says.

Source: Immigration Analytics

The family stresses that Lizardo had recently been fingerprinted by immigration officials and that USCIS mail was reaching the couple at their current home in Victoria, Minnesota. The couple met at the University of Minnesota School of Dentistry, married after graduation and have an 18-month-old daughter. Lauren Lizardo said her husband has not been allowed to work and has been volunteering at a low-cost dental clinic in Burnsville.

Source: Immigration Analytics

Whalen said he would seek Lizardo's release on an emergency basis. ICE had not responded to WCCO as of Friday night, according to the reporting. The account above is the family's and their attorney's; the government's full account has not been reported.

Source: Immigration Analytics