LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) — Community members stood on the steps of Louisville Metro Hall on Friday, holding signs with "bring Armelle home."
The signs were in support of an immigrant woman being held at the Clark County Jail in Indiana after being detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents.
Armelle Bondonga, 21, has been detained for more than two weeks. The Department of Homeland Security said her presence in the U.S. is unlawful, but her legal team said DHS is misconstruing the facts.
Bondonga was completing her final interview on Wednesday, Aug. 12, in the process of getting her marriage-based green card when she was detained by ICE and separated from her husband and 1-year-old son.
"I'm willing to do anything I need to do to get her home," said Terrance Bradshaw, Bondonga's husband.
A gentle smile, a warm embrace, and a soothing cuddle with a soft pat on the back. That's what Bradshaw said her son, Benir, has been missing since his mother was detained Aug. 12.
"It's the most emotional time of my life right now," he said.
There's a void in Bradshaw's home. He's now fighting, doing everything he knows to do to bring his wife home. But he's not on the battlefield alone.
"This community that showed up and showed so much love, I can't wait for her to actually get to see that and experience it for herself," he said.
Louisville residents and loved ones have been calling for her release. Her lawyer said she does not have a criminal record, and believes she has taken every step possible to attain legal citizenship in the United States.
Friday morning, the steps in front of Metro Hall were filled with people holding signs calling for Bondonga to be brought home.
"She's not a criminal," said Sadiqa Reynolds.
Both DHS and Bondonga's legal team said she and her family traveled from the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the U.S. legally on a B-2 tourist visa when she was 8 years old.
DHS claims she overstayed and her tourist visa accruing "more than a decade's worth of unlawful presence in the United States."
Her lawyers said that couldn't be further from the truth, clarifying that the time before she turned 18 does not count toward unlawful presence.
Immigration lawyers said shortly after coming to the states legally, she and her family sought asylum, which is still pending. Bondonga and her husband, who is a U.S. citizen, got married in December and began the marriage-based green card process.
Lawyers said she has remained in compliance with the law. DHS said Bondonga was given an order of removal on Nov. 6 last year, which was immediately appealed. Immigration lawyers said DHS cannot act on a removal order during an appeal.
"This is a person who is in prison because of a paperwork issue," Kentucky Rep. Nima Kulkarni, D-Louisville, said.
Bondonga’s legal team says DHS is focused on an asylum case that she should no longer be a part of.
Her marriage provides a direct path to citizenship.
Their ask is for her to be released on bond in order to complete the green card process she and her husband have started.
They said a deportation to the Congo is not an option for the wife of an American citizen.
Bondonga's bond hearing is scheduled for Monday in Indianapolis. Her family and her legal team hope it results in her release.
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