Panamanian immigrant detained by ICE at routine Virginia check-in, husband fears deportation
Dec 2025·Location: Chantilly, VA
Country of origin: Panama

Elias Perez-Zuazo, a Panamanian national, was detained by ICE in December 2025 during a scheduled check-in appointment at a Chantilly, Virginia office that he had previously attended without incident. Perez-Zuazo entered the U.S. in November 2021, was processed at the southern border, and married his U.S. citizen husband Jonathan Blanco Gallegos in February 2024. They had begun applying for a green card when Perez-Zuazo was taken into custody without warning. A federal judge in the Eastern District of Virginia has issued an order barring ICE from removing him from the judicial district while the court reviews the legality of his detention, which his attorney is challenging via habeas corpus petition.
Sources
- Virginia ICE agents nab gay Panamanian immigrant at routine check-in, man’s U.S. citizen husband says
advocate.com·Jan 14, 2026·archived copy
- laprensagrafica.com
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- EXCLUSIVE: 'Something Was Different' - An Immigrant's Worst Fears Realized
fxbgadvance.com·Jan 12, 2026·archived copy
- Manassas family in limbo as mother remains in ICE custody despite deportation request - WTOP News
WTOP·Jul 11, 2025·archived copy
- Arlington Grocery Store Employee Arrested By ICE Awaits Plea Hearing
patch.com·Feb 19, 2026·archived copy
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