Venezuelan man detained in Whitefish was in the U.S. legally, nonprofit says

Federal agents on Thursday detained a Venezuelan man in Whitefish who is in the country legally, say members of a nonprofit that aids immigrants in the Flathead Valley.  

Beker Enrique Rengifo Del Castillo, 33, was picked up by U.S. Border Patrol agents in downtown Whitefish about 5 p.m., April 24, said Rebecca Miller, vice chair of Valley Neighbors. She was unsure of what precipitated the interaction with the federal agency.  

But Rengifo Del Castillo is in the United States legally, Miller said. He secured a sponsor prior to arriving in the states as part of the Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela parole program initiated under former President Joe Biden, she said.