Alevtina Soboleva, a 59-year-old Russian asylum seeker from Sunnyvale, California, was detained by ICE agents at Buffalo Niagara International Airport on July 20 while returning from a vacation to Niagara Falls with her adult daughter, Daria. Soboleva had entered the U.S. legally on a visitor visa in 2021 and applied for asylum before it expired, citing fears of persecution in Russia over her opposition to the war in Ukraine. Her attorney said she held valid asylum documentation and work authorization. Daria said her mother, who has a progressive neurological disorder and gum disease requiring special hygiene care, was restrained with handcuffs and chains that caused her pain, developed an untreated fever, and was held in a cage without adequate water or bathroom access. She was transferred through multiple facilities, including Mahoning County Jail in Ohio and a South Louisiana ICE processing center. A federal judge later set her bond at $10,000, and she was released after nearly a month in custody and reunited with her daughter in the Bay Area.