Archive · 18 Aug 2026
ICE Detains Indian-Origin Grandmother After 27 Years in US
Venkata is a grandmother who has lived in the United States for 27 years.
She works at a school in North Carolina, helping students with special needs.
She has a green card, which means she is allowed to live in the US.
In 2022, she went to India to take care of her sick parent.
While she was there, she got very sick with Covid-19 and had to stay in the hospital.
Because of that, she came back to the US about seven months later.
The government thought she had stayed away too long and tried to send her back to India.
A judge said the government was wrong and stopped the case.
But later, immigration officers arrested her anyway during a check-in.
Now her lawyers are asking a court to let her go, and many people are asking for her release.
Venkata Narsamamba Vasamsetty, an Indian-origin US green card holder who has lived in the US for 27 years, was detained by ICE during a scheduled check-in on August 11.
She is a grandmother of two and a public school teacher who works with special-needs students in North Carolina.
An immigration judge terminated her deportation case on May 19, ruling that DHS failed to prove she abandoned her permanent residency.
The case stems from a 2022 trip to India to care for an ailing parent, where she contracted Covid-19 and returned to the US in February 2023 after about seven months.
Her lawyers filed an emergency habeas corpus petition on August 13, citing her severe diabetes and lack of medication access, and a federal judge ordered DHS to explain the legal basis for her detention.
- Who
- Venkata Narsamamba Vasamsetty, an Indian-origin US green card holder and North Carolina special-needs teacher.
- What
- She was detained by ICE during a scheduled check-in despite an immigration judge having terminated her deportation case.
- When
- Detained on August 11; the immigration judge terminated her case on May 19; habeas petition filed August 13.
- Where
- Detained at an ICE field office in Charlotte, North Carolina; held at the Irwin County Detention Center in Ocilla, Georgia.
- Why
- DHS argued her extended stay in India indicated she had abandoned her lawful permanent resident status, and ICE detained her despite the earlier termination of removal proceedings.
Vasamsetty's lawyers and supporters
ICE and DHS
Abandonment of permanent residency
Vasamsetty's lawyers and supporters
Her extended stay was due to caring for an ailing parent and Covid-19 hospitalization; she maintained ties through her home purchase, employment, and family in the US.
ICE and DHS
DHS alleged that her roughly seven-month absence from the US indicated she had abandoned her lawful permanent resident status.
Lawfulness of detention
Vasamsetty's lawyers and supporters
ICE had no lawful basis to arrest her because her removal proceedings had been terminated and there was no active notice to appear against her.
ICE and DHS
ICE detained her during a scheduled check-in and has not conceded that the detention was unlawful; ICE claims she isn't a green card holder.
Green card status
Vasamsetty's lawyers and supporters
She has been a lawful permanent resident since 2013 with no criminal history and has maintained lawful status for over 27 years.
ICE and DHS
ICE claims she isn't a green card holder.
- Name
- Venkata Narsamamba Vasamsetty
- Residency
- US green card holder for 27 years; lawful permanent resident since 2013
- Occupation
- Special-needs teacher in North Carolina public schools
- Detention date
- August 11
- Detention facility
- Irwin County Detention Center, Ocilla, Georgia
- Judge's ruling
- May 19 - terminated deportation proceedings
- Reason for extended stay
- 2022 trip to India to care for ailing parents; contracted Covid-19 and was hospitalized
- Legal action
- Emergency habeas corpus petition filed August 13; federal judge ordered DHS to explain detention basis
