An Indian-origin green card holder who has lived in the US for 27 years has been detained by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), months after an immigration judge dismissed a deportation case against her.
Venkata Vasamsetty, a grandmother and special-needs educator in North Carolina, was detained last week during a scheduled inspection and is being held at the Irwin County Detention Center in Georgia, according to ICE’s Online Detainee Locator System.
Her detention has been challenged in federal court by her legal team, which has filed an emergency habeas corpus petition.
Ms Vasamsetty has been a lawful permanent resident since 2013 and has no criminal history, according to her immigration attorney Zoe Wilson.
Ms Wilson said Ms Vasamsetty had lived lawfully in the US for decades and maintained ties to the country through her family, employment, and home.
The dispute began after she spent about seven months in India in 2022-23 caring for her ill parents. Her return to the US was delayed after she contracted Covid-19 and was hospitalised for nearly two weeks and suffered further health problems.
According to Ms Wilson, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has argued that her prolonged absence showed she had abandoned her US permanent residency.
The attorney said in a post on LinkedIn: “She wasn't packing up her life in the United States. She wasn’t moving back to India. She wasn’t leaving with the intention of giving up her green card. At the time she left, she was literally in the process of buying a home in North Carolina to be her primary residence. Then, while she was in India, she completed that purchase.
“After she was discharged, there were other medical issues that further delayed her ability to make a long international trip. When she was finally well enough to travel, she returned home to the United States through Raleigh-Durham International Airport in February 2023. She had been outside the country for about seven months.”
The immigration case against her was dismissed by an immigration judge on 19 May this year after DHS allegedly failed to meet a court deadline to submit evidence supporting its case.
Despite that dismissal, Ms Vasamsetty continued attending required ICE check-ins.
At her 11 August check-in in Charlotte, she was detained and subsequently transferred to a detention facility in Georgia.
“While Mrs Vasamsetty’s case was pending with the Immigration Court, she was required to do check-ins with ICE. Even though her case had already been terminated, she was scheduled for one at the Charlotte ICE office this past Tuesday, on August 11th, 2026.
“She walked in to that check in with all of her documents – the order from the Immigration Judge saying that her proceedings had been terminated, proof of her lawful permanent residence. ICE decided to cuff her and detain her anyway. They claim she ‘Isn’t a green card holder’.
“No warning. No notice. No opportunity to prepare,” Ms Wilson wrote.
The Independent has reached out to ICE for comment.
A Change.org petition highlighting her case says: “Venkata has severe insulin-dependent Diabetes Mellitus and requires daily medications and close monitoring. She has been provided inadequate care and no appropriate accommodations for culturally sensitive food that is appropriate for a diabetic.
“She was taken to the notorious Irwin County Detention Center in Ocilla, Georgia, recently reopened after having been shut down in 2021 following worrying reports of abuse and human rights violations.
“The legal dismissal of her immigration case should have ensured her freedom, yet this oversight persists. It's crucial to address this grave error immediately, not just for Venkata, but for the principles of justice and humanity. We are calling on ICE to release Venkata Vasamsetty, respecting the lawful ruling and allowing her to return to her vital roles in her family and our community.”
