Alexander, who was born in Guatemala, but had been adopted and brought to the U.S. at eight months old, said he knew something was wrong when courtroom staff took fifteen minutes to check his Guatemalan identification card after only taking moments to check his then-fiance's.

"I didn't have my Green Card yet, so I gave them the I.D. I had been given and they took it back to the judge and next thing I know a constable is coming out and telling me he needs to detain me because I.D. didn't look real," Alexander told Newsweek.

"I tried to tell them it wasn't fake and that it was issued from the Guatemalan Consulate but they wouldn't believe me and told me I wasn't allowed to go anywhere or leave the building until I could show proof," he added.


Afraid the couple wouldn't be able to go on with their wedding, Krisha, 23, raced home to get Alexander's paperwork and prove he was in the U.S. legally. But she says as soon as she left, Judge Elizabeth Beckley, who had been meant to marry the young couple, called Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to have her fiance arrested.