Venezuelan asylum seeker and delivery driver detained by ICE outside Bloomington Walmart
Manuel Alejandro Nadal-Ortiz, a Venezuelan delivery driver saving money to support his father back home, was detained outside a Bloomington Walmart and transferred to a Michigan jail. A judge ordered the government to justify holding him.
Sep 30, 2026Bloomington, INCountry of origin: Venezuela

Manuel Alejandro Nadal-Ortiz, a Venezuelan asylum seeker with a pending work permit, was detained by ICE agents on September 1 outside a Bloomington Walmart where he worked as a delivery driver for DoorDash, Uber and Walmart. He was detained alongside Cesar Augusto Cepeda Gomez, another delivery driver. His girlfriend, Joanna Hanner, said his mother called her crying within minutes of the arrest, and the family spent the day calling detention centers before Ortiz reached them by phone that afternoon from Chicago, saying he was being transferred to a jail in Michigan. Hanner said Ortiz had no criminal record beyond a paid speeding ticket, closely monitored local ICE activity to avoid it, and was saving money to support his father in Venezuela. On September 24, Ortiz filed a habeas corpus petition in federal court in Michigan, and on September 30 a judge ordered the government to show cause for his continued detention, with a response due October 5. Unlike Cepeda Gomez, whose parallel habeas case led to a bond hearing, Ortiz's case remains in earlier litigation stages.
Timeline
Tags
Sources
- Two Bloomington men in ICE custody after Tuesday arrests
Indiana Public Media·Sep 3, 2026·archived copy
- Immigration judge sets $10K bond for Bloomington man after federal habeas win
B Square Bulletin·Oct 2, 2026·archived copy
- ‘It feels hopeless’: Bloomington grapples with aftermath of ICE arrest surge
IDS News·Sep 10, 2026
- Bloom Docs
Sep 29, 2026
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