ICE arrests foreign student at US airport while she heads for vacation with boyfriend

A 23-year-old UC Berkeley student from Colombia was arrested by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents at San Francisco International Airport while waiting to board a flight to Portland for a vacation with her boyfriend, the Associated Press reported.Paula Valentina Albornoz Hernandez is currently being held at ICE's California City Detention Center. Her arrest has prompted protests and support efforts from fellow students and university officials, while immigration lawyers have filed a habeas corpus petition challenging her detention.Albornoz Hernandez arrived in the US in September 2022 and overstayed her visa, but subsequently applied for asylum, citing severe gender-based violence in Colombia.

Her application is still pending, and she had a valid work permit, according to her attorney Niko De Bremaeker of Centro Legal de la Raza.She was travelling to Portland with her boyfriend on Friday when an ICE agent in plain clothes approached her in the airport's departure area and asked her name. The agent reportedly guessed her identity three times before she confirmed it.