Attorneys are challenging the detention of Armelle Bondonga, a Louisville woman known for advocacy work and youth leadership who was taken into custody by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement at a routine immigration interview last week.
Bondonga, 21, and her husband, Terrance Bradshaw, a U.S. citizen, appeared for the interview as part of the process for getting a marriage-based green card.
A habeas corpus petition filed in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana Tuesday says she was taken into custody without warning while working toward updating her immigration status.
One of her attorneys said he does not believe Bondonga has a criminal history. An LPM News review of court websites for Indiana and Kentucky only found a speeding ticket in Kentucky.
According to the 16-page petition filed by Louisville attorney Hishem Alsalman, Bondonga was not told she would be detained or subjected to immigration enforcement.
"However, at the interview, the USCIS officer let agents enter the room and without producing a warrant, the agents apprehended and detained Ms. Bondonga," he wrote.
The filing says ICE "disobeyed the law" when agents detained Bondonga at her change of status interview.
The filing also calls for a temporary restraining order.
It lists as respondents Samuel Olson, field office director, Chicago Field office of ICE; David J. Venturella, acting director of ICE;
U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche; U.S. Department of Homeland Security Sec. Markwayne Mulligan and Clark County Sheriff Scottie Maples.
A federal judge issued an order Tuesday giving them seven days to respond to the petition, and to show why it should not be granted. It prevents them from transferring Bondonga outside U.S. jurisdiction or to another federal jurisdiction, while the petition is pending, without the court's permission.
Since her detention and as of Wednesday morning, she has been held at the Clark County jail in Jeffersonville, Indiana, according to jail records. The sheriff entered an agreement last April for the jail to serve as a detention center for ICE, after President Donald Trump increased detention and deportation efforts in his second term.
Louisville attorney Arianit Osmani, who has represented Bondonga in the green card process, said Monday it's concerning that she was picked up despite taking steps toward resolving her immigration status.
"Armelle was not hiding from immigration authorities or attempting to evade the immigration system," Osmani said in an email. "She voluntarily appeared before the government for a scheduled immigration interview as part of the legal process she and her husband were pursuing."
He said attorneys are trying to get her out of custody and prevent her removal from the country.
'The human consequences are substantial'
Her attorneys say Bondonga's arrest and detention violate her rights under the Immigration and Nationality Act and Due Process Clause of the Fifth Amendment.
The habeas petition states that federal courts across the U.S. agree that detaining a person at an adjustment of status interview goes against the Act's provision that allows people to apply for a change in status without leaving the U.S.
Osmani, one of Bondonga's attorneys, called her immigration history complicated.
She came to the U.S. from the Democratic Republic of Congo lawfully on a visitor visa when she was approximately 8 years old and, as a child, was included as a derivative family member when her father initiated asylum proceedings.
Osmani said an immigration judge ultimately entered a removal order affecting the family and that this ongoing matter is being handled by a separate legal team.
He said Bondonga's individual circumstances have "fundamentally changed" in recent years. She is married to a U.S. citizen, and she and her husband "were affirmatively attempting to resolve her immigration status through the legal process," Osmani said.
They have a toddler who is a U.S. citizen. Bondonga previously filed an application to register permanent residence or adjust her status, and at the same time her husband filed an I-130 — a "petition for alien relative" — on her behalf, according to the habeas filing.
Osmani said Monday the I-130 was still pending but that attorneys asked USCIS to "adjudicate that petition without unnecessary delay."
The petition filed this week also states that an immigration judge issued a removal order against Bondonga on Nov. 6, 2025, following her application for asylum to USCIS. It's not clear whether this is the same removal order Osmani referenced.
According to the petition, legal counsel at the time appealed that removal order within the proper 30-day timeframe, but their filing was rejected due to some missing forms.
Attorneys corrected that and resubmitted, but without a request for late filing. The Board of Immigration Appeals dismissed the appeal in April.
In May, Bondonga's attorneys filed a motion for the Board of Immigration Appeals to reconsider the case, which remained pending as of Tuesday.
Osmani said attorneys are pursuing available remedies concerning Bondonga's detention and potential removal, which includes seeking an administrative stay of removal through ICE.
"Our immediate priority is to prevent Armelle from being removed from the United States before her legal options can be meaningfully addressed," he said.
LPM News asked Osmani what it means that Bondonga, or a person like her, is detained by ICE.
"The human consequences are substantial," he said, adding, "This is not simply an immigration case on paper. There is a family living with the consequences of the detention every day, including a very young child who is separated from [their] mother."
The habeas petition asked for immediate relief including an order for respondents to demonstrate why Bondonga should remain in custody, an order preventing her from being moved from Clark County or outside the court's discretion and an order directing her immediate release "pending final adjudication of this petition."
It called for Bondonga's release and, while she's in custody, for officials to not move her from Indiana until the judge rules on the petition.
A community rallies
In the days since Bondonga was initially detained, many community members have rallied for her: sharing the story of her detention and her community work, and donating money for her legal expenses.
Sadiqa Reynolds, a social justice advocate and former CEO of the Louisville Urban League, said in a Facebook post Bondonga left "behind a legacy as a vibrant, selfless, and deeply beloved student leader during her time at Waggener High School."
She said "Armelle poured her heart into Louisville, dedicating endless hours to community service and lifting up everyone around her," and that Bondonga's "absence is being felt by her family and a community that adores her."
Nima Kulkarni, a Democratic Kentucky state representative and immigration attorney, has helped coordinate some of the legal filings to try to get Bondonga out of custody and to remain in the U.S. to fight her case. The New Americans Initiative, a nonprofit Kulkarni founded, is helping with legal expenses.
While Kulkarni is part of her legal team, she is not Bondonga's attorney of record for court filings.
She said when she and others visited Bondonga in jail this week, the woman was sad, but that "she's very strong and she sees hope in everything. And I think the community rallying around her is giving her additional hope."
Kulkarni said Bondonga talked about her family, her community and the other detainees whom she prays with every night.
"Her spirits are low, but she is trying to be optimistic, trying to keep her spirits high," Kulkarni said. "We should do everything that we can to encourage her. But it is a very difficult situation that she finds herself in."
She noted that "this is a person who is not a criminal, who is not the 'worst of the worst,' who has done nothing wrong."
And she said her detention "sends a message that nobody is safe. It doesn't matter if you commit any crimes. It doesn't matter if you've been paying taxes. It doesn't matter if you're a good person or a good, you know, contributing member of society."
Continued opposition to jail's immigration role
Some local residents have continued to speak out against the Clark County jail being part of the federal push for detentions and deportations.
Carolyn King is a member of Do Something Southern Indiana, which has regularly opposed local ICE detention for more than a year.
She noted that Bondonga came here as a child, appears to have no criminal record, contributes to her community, is married to an American and has a child who is American.
"What on earth would possess anyone to detain her?" King asked. "So many of these people have done it the right way. They've been here approved as refugees, as asylum seekers, and then we've gone back on our word as a country to them."
She opposes the recent increase in immigration enforcement actions.
"What it's creating is just a sense of fear in our communities," she said. "It's very scary particularly if you are not white, if you look or speak differently. And yeah they might get you out in three months but that's certainly destroyed your life for a long time."
LPM News reached out to ICE and Maples, the Clark County sheriff, Wednesday morning. ICE did not respond by publication time and Maples declined to comment.
Additional exhibits as part of the filing include Bondonga's passport, the visa issued in 2013, her marriage certificate and a letter requesting her to appear for the immigration interview at the Louisville USCIS office.
This story was updated to include more details about Nima Kulkarni's role in Armelle Bondonga's case.
Coverage of Southern Indiana is funded, in part, by Samtec Inc., the Hazel & Walter T. Bales Foundation, and the Caesars Foundation of Floyd County.
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