Russian asylum seeker detained at routine ICE check-in in Charlotte
Viktor Vdovin, a Russian asylum seeker who fled with his wife Tatiana and their two children in 2022, was detained by ICE during a routine check-in at the Charlotte ICE office and sent to the Stewart Detention Center in Georgia, with his immigration case now separated from his family's. The family's joint asylum hearing is scheduled for November 2027, while Viktor has an earlier master calendar hearing in his now-separate proceedings. ICE has said Viktor's initial humanitarian parole had already expired by the time of his check-in and that a pending asylum application does not itself confer lawful immigration status or preclude detention, despite a USCIS letter the family received in May stating they could remain in the country while their case was decided. Viktor's attorneys have filed a habeas corpus petition seeking his release on bond, which the government has moved to dismiss, and he remains in detention awaiting a judge's ruling while describing overcrowded conditions and falling ill.
