Woman granted torture protection detained over a year as ICE seeks third-country deportation
May 29, 2026 · Monroe, LA
DetainmentThird Country DeportationDetention ConditionsCourt Order ViolationRefugee/Asylum SeekerLitigationLouisiana

A 23-year-old South American woman was granted protection from deportation to her home country by an immigration judge in June 2025 after fleeing persecution based on her queer identity. Despite this ruling, ICE has held her in Richwood Correctional Center in Monroe, Louisiana for over a year while seeking to deport her to the Democratic Republic of Congo, a country where she has never been and where she would face serious risks.
Sources
More incidents in Louisiana
- Colombian woman detained nine months by ICE, family cites health concernsAug 21, 2026 · Basile, LA
- Cuban deported by ICE to Liberia ends up stranded in Equatorial GuineaAug 20, 2026 · LA
- Army staff sergeant's wife removed from deportation flight mid-journey, returned to LouisianaAug 14, 2026 · Louisiana
- Venezuelan rapper with legal status alleges tuberculosis outbreak, overcrowding at Louisiana ICE facilityAug 13, 2026 · LA
- Cuban detainee's bid to block deportation and win release denied by federal courtAug 12, 2026 · Pine Prairie, LA
- Nicaraguan asylum-seeker defrauded by fake attorney, arrested at ICE check-in, deportedAug 11, 2026 · New Orleans, LA