A U.S. Navy veteran’s wife says she “almost died” after a medical emergency during ICE custody following a green card interview in California—an episode her family alleges stemmed from a medication error and was followed by isolation. Lydia Rabara Swinburne, 3
When Lydia Rabara Swinburne walked out of federal custody on May 18, her first reaction was disbelief. “I feel like I’m dreaming,” she said after her release.
Her family had been waiting through a tense stretch of detention that. according to them. included a medical emergency that nearly killed her—triggered by a medication error and followed by days the family describes as frightening isolation. Swinburne, 39, was released after a U.S. District Judge ordered her immediate discharge from ICE custody. She had been held after being arrested during a green card interview while her husband and she pursued adjustment of immigration status.
“It doesn’t seem real,” Swinburne told reporters. “To hold my son after five weeks, to hold my husband’s hand, I have no words.”
Her husband, Robert Swinburne, 59—a former U.S. Navy navigator—said the ordeal has fractured their home life. Before his wife’s release, he described sleeping little and struggling to keep himself steady. “I am a mess. I don’t sleep more than two or three hours a night,” he said. “I seem to be living two lives between pain and fatherhood. One the truth and one the mask.”.
The case has drawn renewed attention to how ICE detention facilities handle medical emergencies and mental health care for people held on civil grounds, not criminal charges.
Swinburne was admitted to the United States as a B-2 nonimmigrant valid until April 23. 2026. according to the Department of Homeland Security. DHS said she was arrested by ICE on April 7 while she was attending a green card interview. A DHS spokesperson said she was detained after being “arrested by local authorities for Assault with a Deadly Weapon and Inflict Corporal Injury on Spouse.” DHS also said the charges were later dropped before trial.
Robert Swinburne said the arrest followed a domestic dispute between the couple on March 20, which he said was mischaracterized. He acknowledged an argument but said the situation escalated when he became concerned because his wife was unreachable for several hours. When she returned. he said she blocked a doorway and swung a can opener. striking him as he attempted to enter. He said they struggled and fell, and he suffered a minor injury.
He said he did not want to press charges and believed his wife called police seeking mediation. which he described as common practice in the Philippines. “Until the incident which flagged her for detention, my wife has never had any interaction with the police,” he said. “She is respectful of others and poses no danger to society.”.
The family’s account turns to May 2, more than three weeks into Lydia Rabara Swinburne’s detention at the California City ICE facility. Swinburne said she became unresponsive in her cell after a nurse gave her medication she did not recognize.
“They were a different type and color,” she said in a statement provided to reporters. “That day, I didn’t recognize the meds. I almost died.”
Swinburne described severe symptoms, including dizziness, vomiting, and difficulty breathing.
Her husband alleges the emergency stemmed from a medication error by facility staff. He said detainees inside the facility contacted him to report that she was first given Narcan. a medication used to reverse opioid overdoses. inside her cell. He also said a multi-hour lockdown followed while detainees were questioned. He further alleged that she was taken to the facility’s clinic. where she received chest compressions and multiple doses of Narcan before being transported by ambulance to a hospital.
Robert Swinburne said a man in a suit told him she was only sick. “Okay, so why did they need to give her nine hits of Narcan if it was just a cold?” he said.
DHS and CoreCivic offered a different framing. DHS confirmed a medical emergency occurred on May 2. The agency said medical staff found Lydia Rabara Swinburne “breathing” and transported her to a local emergency room. where she was diagnosed with a “medication reaction.” DHS said she returned to the detention facility the same day and was housed in a medical unit until further evaluation.
DHS also provided a timeline of her medical information in custody. It said during an intake screening on April 8 she denied prior self-harm or overdose but reported taking lithium and bupropion. which were continued. DHS said that during a mental health evaluation on April 10 she acknowledged a suicide attempt before detention. and on April 12 she reported a recent overdose and pneumonia.
According to DHS, doctors later diagnosed anxiety and adjustment disorder and prescribed additional medications, including hydroxyzine. The agency said that on May 3 lithium and bupropion were discontinued. hydroxyzine was increased temporarily. and it was recommended that she return to normal housing.
A DHS spokesperson said, “For many illegal aliens this is the best healthcare they have received their entire lives.”
CoreCivic, the private contractor that operates the California City facility, declined to discuss the specific case, citing privacy laws. The company said detainees have access to licensed medical staff. daily requests for care. and 24-hour emergency response. with referrals to outside hospitals when necessary. “Nothing matters more to CoreCivic than the health. safety and well-being of the people in our care. ” a spokesperson said. adding that facilities are subject to multiple layers of oversight.
Even as DHS said she was housed in a medical unit after hospitalization, the family disputes what happened next. Robert Swinburne said his wife was later placed in solitary confinement and denied her usual psychiatric medication. DHS has said she was housed in a medical unit following her hospitalization.
In letters to her husband from inside detention. Lydia Rabara Swinburne denied attempting suicide or misusing drugs and rejected claims that she overdosed. She wrote that officers delayed responding after she collapsed and said staff later accused her of overdosing or acquiring drugs from other detainees.
“They accused me of overdosing on my own or buying bad drugs from the other girls,” she said. “I don’t drink, never smoked, and I’ve never even seen bad drugs. I know they made a mistake.”
News coverage on the case also underscored what remains unresolved: reporters said they could not independently verify whether she received an incorrect medication. how many doses of Narcan were administered. or whether she was placed in solitary confinement or medical isolation after her return from the hospital.
The dispute carried into court. The family’s attorney filed a habeas corpus petition challenging Lydia Rabara Swinburne’s detention. The filing argued she had been held for more than a month without receiving a Notice to Appear in immigration court, preventing her from seeking a bond hearing.
On May 18, U.S. District Judge Dena M. Coggins issued a temporary restraining order directing that Lydia Rabara Swinburn “be released immediately” from ICE custody.
After her release, Swinburne said she was trying to process what had happened to her family. “To hold my son after five weeks, to hold my husband’s hand, I have no words,” she said.
The detention’s impact on their child, a six-year-old U.S. citizen son, has been among the sharpest consequences described by the couple. Robert Swinburne said the separation took a severe toll on their son, who often woke crying for his mother. He said he kept photographs of his wife around their home and spoke about her often to maintain a sense of connection.
“She makes everything in our lives beautiful,” he said.
He also described her long involvement in humanitarian work in the Philippines, including supporting a local orphanage near Subic Bay, where the couple met while his ship was docked.
Nationwide. the case fits into a broader debate about medical care. mental health treatment. and the use of isolation in ICE detention facilities. Advocates and legal filings have raised concerns about oversight. delayed care. and medication management. while DHS maintains that it provides comprehensive medical services to detainees. including emergency care.
For Lydia Rabara Swinburne, the immediate focus is recovery and family. She said, “I want to know the truth,” adding that right now she does not want to wake up without her husband and son. “But right now I never want to wake up from this dream with my husband and son.”
The precise circumstances surrounding the May 2 incident remain disputed, and no independent investigation findings have been publicly released.
ICE detention California City ICE facility Lydia Rabara Swinburne Robert Swinburne Narcan habeas corpus Dena M. Coggins green card interview solitary confinement medical care in immigration custody