Sarafinah Bukirwa, a 31-year-old Ugandan immigrant and founder of Sarafinah Sickle Cell Society, a nonprofit treating sickle cell anemia, was detained by ICE on July 22, 2026, at Muhammad Ali International Airport in Louisville while traveling to a sickle cell anemia conference in California. Bukirwa entered the U.S. legally on a visa to expand her nonprofit work and has a pending asylum claim with valid work authorization. After being held at Grayson County Detention Center in Leitchfield, Kentucky, her family reported she was denied her required sickle cell medication for nearly a week despite having the medication with her, with prescriptions reportedly diluted in water and withheld. She experienced a medical crisis requiring hospitalization at a Louisville hospital the day before her detention. Her brother Isaac Kabunga stated at a press conference that ICE agents claimed she was arrested for overstaying her visa, though U.S. Rep. Morgan McGarvey confirmed she is following proper legal procedures and called for her immediate release, stating her condition could become life-threatening without proper treatment.