SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — An undocumented immigrant in San Diego claims he was recently detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents, despite having a pending asylum appeal.
Alex, a 29-year-old from Peru, says he fled his home country in 2022 after leading a student protest that resulted in police beatings and death threats against him and his family. He crossed the border into Arizona and applied for asylum, ending up in San Diego, where he has family.
After a court denied his initial asylum claim in 2023, Alex appealed the decision and was granted a stay of deportation while his case was pending. He says he regularly checked in with ICE.
“I thought I was safe from being picked up,” said Alex.
Six days after President Trump took office, Alex says ICE agents showed up at his South Bay home, handcuffed him and took him into custody.
"Confused and panicked, never been arrested. I have no criminal history here or in my home country," Alex said.
He was transferred to Otay Mesa Detention Center.
After several delays, including a judge falling ill, a bond hearing was held and Alex was released on February 14th on a minimum $1,500 bond. However, he now has an ankle monitor and remains in limbo as he waits for a decision on his asylum appeal.
Alex's attorney, Saman Nasseri, said in 13 years of immigration law practice, he has never seen someone in Alex's circumstances - with a pending asylum appeal - be picked up and detained by ICE.
"Never seen this, unless someone commits a crime or something changes. Not someone with his circumstances, to be picked up by ICE and place a bond," Nasseri said.
"Still nervous … I'm thankful to be out, but still have this fear of being picked up," Alex said.
ABC 10News reached out to an ICE spokesperson to ask whether they are detaining immigrants with pending asylum appeals. We were told they couldn’t comment unless they were given a specific case number, which Alex declined to provide.
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