A Washington and Lee University scholarship student and his father were arrested and detained by Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in Florida earlier this month as they traveled from Orlando to Lexington so he could start his sophomore year, The News-Gazette has learned.
They remain detained indefinitely, according to a statement ICE emailed to The News-Gazette last week.
“Luis Alejandro Olarte Gosling, 20, and Luis Felipe Olarte Lugo, 55, both illegal aliens from Venezuela, were arrested by ICE and U.S. Border Patrol during immigration enforcement operations in St. Johns County, Fla., during a vehicle stop on Interstate 95 on Sept. 2, 2026,” ICE said in the statement.
“Both Lugo and Gosling entered the United States legally on Sept. 27, 2018, and were authorized to remain until March 26, 2019. They violated immigration law by remaining after that date and not adjusting their immigration status. They will remain in ICE custody pending immigration proceedings.”
According to a GoFundMe set up to help with the family’s legal expenses, Luis and his parents are asylum seekers and he is on a full scholarship to W&L. In December 2024, Orange County Public Schools in Florida posted an image of the beaming student with a sign celebrating his scholarship through a nonprofit called QuestBridge, which provides funds for high-achieving high school seniors from low-income backgrounds.
“There is an empty bed in a college dorm room at one of this country’s top universities tonight. It belongs to my son and my proudest accomplishment, Luis Alejandro Olarte,” Anais Gosling wrote on GoFundMe.
A spokesperson for Washington and Lee University said that school officials are “aware of situation and are concerned for the individual and his family.” The spokesperson was unable to release any more details due to privacy laws.
Gosling’s mother wrote on the GoFundMe that her husband was driving his son to Washington and Lee University’s campus on Sept. 1 because they were afraid to fly due to recent crackdowns on immigration.
“We didn’t want him to fly there due to the recent news about ICE enforcements in the airports. On I-95 in St. Johns County, FL, they were pulled over, and both of them were detained by immigration agents without any reason given to them. Our family car was towed off the side of the highway. Neither of them ever made it to Virginia,” she wrote.
Gosling wrote on the GoFundMe that her husband and son are being held at Baker Correctional Institute in Sanderson, Fla., and that they have been exposed to extreme heat and lack of food.
“It is hot inside and there is no relief from it. It’s the kind of heat that you experience for a couple of hours when your A/C breaks in the summer, only this one doesn’t stop. Ever. The food is not enough, and my husband has been sharing part of his with our son,” she wrote.
The News-Gazette has been unable to reach Anais Gosling or determine if the family has an attorney. It’s unclear why they sought asylum in the U.S.
The News-Gazette spoke to a Virginia immigration lawyer Jaime McGuire with Amaryllis Law in Lynchburg, who could not speak on the specifics of the case, but said that often, the children of asylum seekers are also allowed asylum and temporary protected status (TPS).
TPS allows people from other countries who are the victims of ongoing armed conflicts, environmental disasters and other extreme conditions to stay in the U.S. under certain conditions.
“Asylum is a very legally intricate type of case that is very fact-specific on what the individual has been through,” McGuire said.
Anais Gosling wrote on the GoFundMe that the family believed they were complying with the requirements they were supposed to meet.
“We have gone to every appointment. Everyone in the family holds a valid work permit. Neither of them has ever been arrested for anything in his life,” she wrote.
McGuire said if the family had missed a court date, deportation proceedings could proceed fast.
“If they don’t go to a court date, they are removed in abstentia, and that can move very quick for their deportation,” she said. “If they have the removal order, they’re basically on notice, and that would be where they know they have the risk.”
McGuire also said that under the current administration, people can be removed from TPS at any time, specifically by country.
“What we’ve seen this current administration do is take away TPS for Venezuelans,” she said.
ICE said in its statement to The News-Gazette that temporary protected status “is exactly that — temporary. For too long, TPS has been allowed to function as a de facto amnesty program despite Congress never intending it to be permanent. Furthermore, employment authorizations do NOT confer any type of legal status in the United States. All illegal aliens receive due process. We are applying the law as written by Congress. If a judge finds an illegal alien has no right to be in this country, we are going to remove them. Period.”
ICE suggested in the statement that illegal aliens “take control of their departure” by accepting “$3,000 and a free flight to self-deport now.” To assist with this process, the Department of Homeland Security has created the CBP Home App, through which “non-criminal illegal aliens” can be “temporarily deprioritized by ICE for detention or enforcement action” if they “submit their intent to depart … and pass vetting,” according to the Department of Homeland Security’s website.
“We encourage every person here illegally to take advantage of this offer and reserve the chance to come back to the U.S. the lawful, legal way to live the American dream,” ICE wrote in the statement. “If not, you will be arrested and removed without a chance to return.”
