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.  

The program allowed up to 532,000 immigrants from the four nations to fly to the U.S. after securing sponsorships from people already living here. Once stateside, they were allowed to work and remain in the U.S. for two years. 

The Biden administration launched the parole program in a bid to ease crossings at the U.S.-Mexico border, using a tool available to presidents since 1952. Past groups of immigrants who availed themselves to humanitarian parole include people fleeing a Soviet Union-backed government in Hungary in the 1950s, the fall of South Vietnam in the 1970s and those fleeing Cuba in the 1980s.  

The White House, under President Donald Trump, has moved to end the parole program. A federal judge in Massachusetts earlier this month blocked the administration’s efforts to rescind en masse the legal status of immigrants registered in the program.  

The parole program is different from the temporary protective status given to immigrants from nations ravaged by war, natural disasters, or disease. Countries where temporary protective status does apply include Venezuela, El Salvador, Afghanistan and Ukraine.  

Rengifo Del Castillo, who has been in Montana since arriving in the country less than two years ago, later applied for asylum, Miller said. A Kalispell resident, he worked in the food service and cleaning service industries, she said.  

Miller said that, to her knowledge, Rengifo Del Castillo does not have a criminal history in the U.S. A search of local court records turned up no cases involving anyone by that name.  

Supporters were able to connect Rengifo Del Castillo with an attorney Thursday evening, but they believe he has since been moved to Tacoma, Washington and handed over to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Miller said.  

A Border Patrol spokesperson said Friday the agency does not release details about individual cases, citing privacy concerns. A spokesperson for Immigration and Customs Enforcement told the Inter Lake that questions about Rengifo Del Castillo should be directed to Border Patrol as they performed the arrest.  

The latter agency did not immediately respond to follow-up questions about Rengifo Del Castillo's status. 

Requests for comment from the Whitefish Police Department were not immediately returned. 

On Thursday evening, a group of people gathered at the Whitefish Customs and Border Patrol office on U.S. 93 West to protest the detainment and stayed at the facility until after midnight.  

Leanette Naavo Galaz with Flathead Democracy said she helped organize the gathering that grew to nearly 50 people at one point. 

“This is scary. We should be scared,” Galaz told the Whitefish Pilot. 

“Everybody wants to think we’re different from this guy, but if he has rights, and they’re disregarding it anyways, then that means we don’t have rights too. The courts don’t matter. The Legislature doesn’t matter. Forget having three branches of government. There’s only one now,” she said.   

News Editor Derrick Perkins can be reached at 758-4430 or dperkins@dailyinterlake.com. Whitefish Pilot Editor Kelsey Evans contributed to this article.