Family, friends and community members are rallying for the release of Armelle Bondonga, a Louisville woman detained by U.S. Customs and Immigration Enforcement at a routine interview more than two weeks ago.
She was taken into custody Aug. 12 when she and her husband, Terrance, voluntarily attended an interview as part of the process for her marriage-based green card. Their toddler was with them.
Dozens of people lined the steps of Louisville Metro Hall Friday morning in support of the woman known for her advocacy work and community service.
Many carried signs that read “Bring Armelle home,” as her family, legal team and others spoke of her impact on the local community, of what happened and what comes next.
“She's not a criminal. She's never been charged with a crime,” Sadiqa Reynolds, a community advocate and part of Bondonga’s legal team, said at the press conference.
Bondonga immigrated to the U.S. as a child with her family in 2013 from the Democratic Republic of Congo. Reynolds spoke of some of her accomplishments and contributions — she volunteered, she got a degree then a job, and was going through the legal immigration process when she was detained.
“She did everything. She went to the interview. She went to the next interview. She filled out the forms, and then she got arrested,” Reynolds said. “And now, she is sitting in a jail, and the only hope she has is us raising our voices, pushing back, saying, ‘This is exactly the kind of person who deserves to be an American citizen. This is exactly the kind of person we want in this country.’”
Across the country, a majority of people targeted during a surge in immigration arrests over the summer had no criminal records, the New York Times reported this week.
Terrance Bradshaw, a U.S. citizen, said his wife did nothing wrong and that he and the community behind him support her.
“God knows she belongs here, and I pray that the judge will see that she belongs here as well,” he said. “We love you, Armelle. We can't wait ‘til you're home.”
Path to a green card
Bondonga’s attorneys say she was taking steps to update her immigration status, following a complicated history that included being part of her family’s asylum case.
According to the habeas petition, an immigration judge issued a removal order against her late last year, which Bondonga’s legal team at the time appealed. That was ultimately dismissed over filing issues, and attorneys filed a motion in May asking the Board of Immigration Appeals to reconsider the case.
Reynolds told LPM News Bondonga should not be part of the asylum case anymore, since she is married. She also noted Bondoga was working toward a green card.
“So what we are saying is, ‘OK, government, we understand this route. However, she's in the process here on this other route, and we would like for you to continue to consider that,’” she said.
‘She did not understand this was real’
In a habeas corpus petition filed last week, Bondonga’s attorney argued ICE disobeyed the law when agents took her into custody at her change of status interview, and that her rights are being violated.
The list of respondents in the filing includes ICE officials as well as U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche, U.S. Department of Homeland Security Sec. Markwayne Mulligan and Clark County Sheriff Scottie Maples. Maples oversees the Clark County jail, which holds people for ICE.
Court records filed this week as part of the federal officials’ response to the petition show that her Aug. 12 detention was a “targeted arrest” by members of Louisville’s Fugitive Operations Team.
Records show she was served with a “Warrant for Removal,” which they say she signed. The attorney said in her habeas petition that ICE entered the room at the U.S. Customs and Immigration Services Louisville field office on South 4th Street without a warrant.
Reynolds said she believes Bondonga didn’t expect to be detained, and said she was taking all the right steps to update her status.
“She did everything she was supposed to do,” Reynolds said. “And on the very last interview, she sat. She answered the questions. The interviewer smiled. The interviewer laughed. The interviewer told her, ‘This is going well.’ She felt assured.”
Then, Reynolds said, ICE agents entered the office and told her she was under arrest, that she could not leave and would be detained.
Reynolds said she was so shocked she initially laughed.
“She did not understand that this was real,” Reynolds said. “She did not understand that this could be happening to her.”
Attorneys for officials named in the petition said in a response this week that Bondonga is being lawfully detained, not entitled to release and that the court should dismiss her petition.
The response notes Bondonga’s attorneys argued her detention was unlawful because she was arrested after her adjustment of status hearing.
“However, this claim is not supported by any binding precedent or law,” it reads. “ICE was within its statutory authority to detain the Petitioner for purposes of effectuating her removal.”
The filing pointed to an appellate decision in which the court agreed arresting people at USCIS interviews was not a way to trap them, but an approach where “plaintiffs could be located and safely apprehended at a USCIS appointment where they were due for interviews.”
It also notes that the motion for the Board of Immigration Appeals to reconsider does not stay her removal, and that her due process rights aren’t being violated.
“She has only been detained since Aug. 12, 2026,” this week’s filing reads. “There are no impediments to her expeditious removal.”
What comes next
Bondonga’s attorneys Arianit Osmani and Hishem Alsalman were also at the press conference.
Her legal team says they’re preparing for a bond hearing scheduled Monday afternoon in immigration court. They’ll ask for her release, and they hope she won’t have to pay a bond. But if there is one, they’re confident they will have the funds.
“We will raise that dollar amount,” Reynolds said. “We have access to unlimited resources when it comes to Armelle. We will do whatever we have to do to bring our girl home.”
Bondonga’s supporters quickly raised funding through community donations after her arrest to help with legal expenses.
Attorneys say making bond won’t necessarily stop her removal from the U.S., but she will be able to be at home while the process plays out.
Her legal team is working on a response in the habeas case, and the district court judge has not issued any orders to grant or deny the petition or calling for a bond hearing, according to online court records Friday.
Terrance Bradshaw, Bondonga’s husband, said her absence is a void in the home. He noted how everyone sees her as a bright light in a dark room. He can’t visit her, but they can talk on paid calls. When they’re able to talk, they don’t spend time on this.
“Sometimes, she just wants to ask about how our day’s going and everything,” he said.
He said the community support is important.
“I just can't wait to see, you know, let her see how much she's loved and how much she belongs here,” Bradshaw said. “I can't wait for her to actually get to see that and experience it for herself.”
Elected officials from Kentucky including Democratic U.S. Rep. Morgan McGarvey and Democratic State Rep. Keturah Herron also attended the event in support of Bondonga’s case.
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