By Nick Valencia | October 11, 2025
ATLANTA — The wife of an Atlanta chef detained by ICE after a minor traffic stop says her husband was legally in the country on a valid work permit and awaiting approval of his asylum visa.
Adalina Merello took to Facebook early Monday morning to share what she called her family’s “horrible news,” writing that her husband, Jorge, had been taken into custody despite maintaining legal status. He is now being held at the Stewart Detention Center in Lumpkin, Georgia — a facility known for holding hundreds of immigrants with pending asylum cases.
“If you are paying attention to the news, you know that my community is under attack,” Merello wrote. “Latinos and immigrants are being swept up and detained for nonsense reasons and in droves.”
Jorge was arrested on Friday, September 19, for speeding and later transferred through three separate facilities before arriving at Stewart on October 3.
“My husband is not only married to an American, but he is legally in this country on a work permit and awaiting an asylum visa,” she wrote. “That being said, he has a legitimate path to citizenship.”
The couple’s story highlights what immigrant-rights advocates call an alarming pattern — legally present immigrants swept up in ICE enforcement operations that blur the line between public safety and political targeting.
She described her husband not as a criminal, but as “a hardworking, contributing member of society who loves his work, me, our dog, and his community.”
Merello said her husband remains optimistic but the system feels “designed to tear people down.”
The couple, who were married a year and a half ago by Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens after winning a city wedding contest, had postponed filing for a spousal green card due to cost.
“We’re not of many means,” she said. “It was too expensive, so we hadn’t applied.”
Jorge has worked as a lead cook at a Buckhead restaurant for years — part of Atlanta’s thriving culinary scene.
“He takes care of our house, works on his cars, and plays with our dogs,” she said. “Our dog is waiting on his couch for him. He’s just a good person. A quality human being.”
As her husband waits in detention, Merello says she refuses to give up. “It’s putting a hole in our family like you cannot imagine,” she wrote. “I will not let them win.”
