Policy of holding Russians in ICE detention began under Biden, continues under Trump

[Demovictory9]

https://sacramento.newsreview.com/2025/04/21/life-under-trump-migrants-win-asylum-yet-remain-locked-up/



Russians who fled their homeland could be held in U.S. custody for years while ICE pushes back on the decision to grant them freedom.
By Kate Morrissey, Capital & Main
This story is produced by the award-winning journalism nonprofit Capital & Main and co-published here with permission.

When Arsenii crossed the border at the San Ysidro Port of Entry in September with an appointment to begin his asylum process after fleeing Russia, the first thing he heard from U.S. officials distressed him.

“Fucking Russians,” Arsenii said the officer said to him.


He waited for more than five months for the opportunity to explain how he fled his homeland because of his LGBTQ+ and anti-war activism and now needed protection in front of an immigration judge. On March 3, the judge granted him asylum, which would allow him to live and work in the United States and become a permanent resident.

But Arsenii remained in U.S. government custody, one of many Russians stuck in ICE detention facilities after proving that they qualify for refugee status due to policies from both the Biden and Trump administrations. He said an ICE official told him that he would not be allowed to leave anytime soon.

“I’m irritated. I’m depressed. I’m sad,” Arsenii said on a phone call from the detention center. “I don’t understand why I have to waste my time here, staying here when I already managed to get a status for myself. I’m a refugee. I don’t understand. I cannot comprehend why they don’t want to let me out and to proceed with my future life here.

[LiberalArkie]

1. I would imagine that they would allow him to be released to a Russian immigration person from the embassy