Iowa Judge blocks ICE efforts to deport Bolivian man to Congo

'Exactly what asylum law is meant to stop': ICE again seizes Bolivian man ordered released in January, plans to deport him to Africa

Hundreds gather in Iowa City’s Ped Mall to hear from loved ones of Jorge Elieser González Ochoa, as well as Escucha Mi Voz organizers and elected officials on Friday morning, Sept. 26, 2025. — Kellan Doolittle/Little Village Three months after a federal judge ordered ICE to release José Yugar-Cruz from Muscatine County Jail, ICE has detained the 36-year-old asylum seeker from Bolivia again. ICE has not accused Yugar-Cruz, who has no criminal rec…

Iowa Judge blocks ICE efforts to deport Bolivian man to Congo

Hunter 04/10/26 A Bolivian man who was detained in the Muscatine County Jail by Immigration and Customs Enforcement for 11 months was due to be deported to Congo until a federal judge blocked the action. Iowa Capital Dispatch reports the move by ICE to deport 36-year-old Jose Yugar-Cruz comes just two days after the Trump administration announced a new international agreement that allows the United States to send to the Democratic Republic of Co…