Lucia Rojas De La Cruz, 40, of Des Moines, came to the United States from Mexico in 2003 at age 17 and has lived in Iowa since 2016, raising three daughters, working continuously, and staying active in her church. On Dec. 30, 2025, a Carlisle police officer pulled her over for a defective headlight and cited her for driving without a valid license, after which she was transferred to the Warren County Jail where ICE agents took custody of her and later moved her to the Polk County Jail. An immigration judge in Omaha twice denied her a bond hearing, citing the federal government's interpretation that mandatory detention applies even to immigrants who have lived in the U.S. for decades with pending asylum applications. Rojas De La Cruz, who has a pending asylum application and no criminal history aside from traffic citations, sued, and U.S. District Judge Stephen H. Locher ruled on March 16 that the government violated her due process rights, ordering the immigration court to provide her with a bond hearing.