23-Year-Old Asylum Seeker Accepts Deportation After 3 Months in ICE Detention
Updated
Updated · The Guardian · May 30
23-Year-Old Asylum Seeker Accepts Deportation After 3 Months in ICE Detention
7 articles · Updated · The Guardian · May 30
Ana María, 23, said she abandoned her US asylum case and accepted deportation after three months in ICE custody left her fearing she could not endure detention any longer.
At least six transfers across multiple states drove that decision: she described repeated shackling, hunger, sleeplessness, invasive searches and guards who mocked her when she asked that handcuffs be loosened.
Her ordeal began in January after she and her boyfriend sought asylum in Canada; she said Canadian authorities detained him and sent her back to the US, where ICE took custody despite her pending 2027 court date.
Ana María had fled South America in 2024 after two sisters were shot dead and her family received gang threats, and she says returning now has left her largely confined at home in fear.
ICE did not answer the Guardian's detailed questions, while volunteer group Güeras Aliadas said frequent transfers often make detainees hard for families to locate or contact.
Why are asylum seekers abandoning valid claims to escape the conditions of U.S. immigration detention?
What fate awaits asylum seekers deported to 'safe' third countries where they have no connection?
Unprecedented Immigration Enforcement in the U.S. (2025–2026): Mass Detention, Deportation, and Eroded Asylum Protections
Overview
Since President Trump began his second term in January 2025, the United States has seen a dramatic rise in immigration enforcement. This shift was enabled by a supportive Congress and Supreme Court, allowing the administration to expand policies beyond its first term. Congress allocated $170 billion to the Department of Homeland Security, which used the funds to grow the nation’s detention and deportation system. A key strategy has been widespread and often hidden detention practices, with Immigration and Customs Enforcement detaining people in hundreds of facilities. These actions mark a new, more aggressive era in U.S. immigration policy.