Kentucky Woman Faces Detention Amid Immigration Struggles

A Kentucky woman originating from the Democratic Republic of the Congo was taken into custody by federal authorities during an immigration interview, as reported by her attorney. Armelle Bondonga arrived in the U.S. with a visa in 2013 and was detained on August 12 while discussing her marriage-based application alongside her U.S.-citizen husband and their 18-month-old child, attorney Arianit Osmani shared with Newsweek.

“She went to that interview because she and her husband were attempting to follow the legal process available to them and resolve her immigration status lawfully,” Osmani noted in a statement. “Following that interview, Armelle was taken into ICE custody.”

Residing in Louisville, Bondonga had not tried to evade authorities during the immigration procedure, Osmani stated.

“Quite the opposite: she voluntarily appeared before the government for an immigration interview as part of the process she and her husband were pursuing,” Osmani said. “I do not want to speculate about ICE’s motives or characterize the government’s intentions. What I can say is that the circumstances are deeply concerning, particularly given that Armelle was appearing for an immigration benefit interview and has a U.S.-citizen husband, a very young U.S.-citizen child, and a pending marriage-based petition.”

As Bondonga remains detained, her husband, Terrance Bradshaw, is dealing with the uncertainty surrounding his wife’s detention and simultaneously supporting their family and caring for their young child.

“He is now carrying responsibilities that they previously shared as a family,” Osmani added. “At the same time, Armelle is experiencing that separation from inside a detention facility. The situation has therefore placed a significant emotional and practical burden on the entire family.”

According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Bondonga entered the U.S. legally on a visa in September 2013, which was set to expire in March 2014.

“She overstayed her welcome in violation of our nation’s immigration laws, and under the Obama administration began accruing more than a decade’s worth of unlawful presence in the United States,” an ICE spokesperson told Newsweek.

Bondonga received a final removal order in November 2025 from an immigration judge, as per ICE officials.

“She received due process,” ICE’s statement continued. “Being in detention is a choice. We encourage all illegal aliens to take control of their departure with the CBP Home App. The United States is offering illegal aliens $2,600 and a free flight to self-deport now. We encourage every person here illegally to take advantage of this offer and reserve the chance to come back to the U.S. the right legal way to live the American dream. If not, you will be arrested and deported without a chance to return.”

Kentucky State Representative Nima Kulkarni, also an immigration attorney, accused ICE of treating Bondonga inhumanely and politically using her during her custody.

“I was able to meet with her in detention, and while her conditions have improved, she has been through a horrific ordeal, spending her first night in detention sleeping on a cold concrete floor surrounded by strangers,” Kulkarni told Newsweek. “I was struck by how important it was for her to keep her humanity under such inhumane circumstances. She barely talked about herself. Instead, she focused on her family and community, but also on the other detainees she was incarcerated with: how they prayed together every night, how they gave each other strength to get through this time.”

Kulkarni described Bondonga as the type of immigrant the U.S. should accept.

“Not a criminal, not a drain on our society, but someone who has devoted her young life to others in her community,” Kulkarni said. “Unfortunately, stories like Armelle’s are all too frequent in our country, where this administration has enacted policies that lure people who are attending routine green card interviews only to be arrested and jailed.”

Current administrative procedures aim to detain as many immigrants and refugees as possible, Kulkarni declared.

“We have a duty and an obligation to hold our elected officials accountable and fix our broken immigration system, instead of continuing to vilify and criminalize those who are working hard to attain the American Dream,” she continued.

Before moving to Kentucky, Bondonga and her family resided in California, New York, and Maine. She attended Waggener High School in Louisville and earned a business management degree from Jefferson Community and Technical College, the Louisville Courier Journal reported.

In high school, Bondonga helped start Future Ancestors, a group formed after Breonna Taylor’s death.

Former teacher Ryan Davis expressed his concern, “All my mind is thinking about right now is, ‘How do we get this mom home to her baby and her husband?’…There’s so many people in this community that love [Bondonga].”

Bondonga shared with the Courier Journal her reasons for fleeing the Democratic Republic of the Congo, emphasizing its challenges.

“If I wasn’t born to the parents I was born to, I could have been those kids that are in the mines…not having an education, that could have easily been me,” she said. “…Now that I am in America, and I’m able to host events with the Future Ancestors like the Race4Justice and go to community events and speak my voice, it’s almost like I have no choice but to do that because…if I lived in Congo still, I probably wouldn’t be able to do that.”

Osmani said Bondonga’s husband has filed an I-130 petition to recognize their qualifying relationship.

“Her continued detention also means the continued separation of a mother from her very young child and of a wife from her husband,” Osmani said. “That separation is placing a significant burden on the entire family. We believe these circumstances deserve meaningful consideration before the government takes the irreversible step of removing her from the United States.”