Hunter
05/01/26
Advocates rallied at the Linn County Correctional Center Thursday, calling for the release on an asylum seeker on track to be deported to a country he’s never lived in.
CBS 2 reports Jose Fernando Yugar Cruz previously won protection from deportation to Bolivia under US immigration law. He was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement for over a year before a federal judge ordered his release in December.
Days after the Trump administration announced a new agreement allowing deportations to the Congo, Cruz was re-detained. Cruz issued an audio message this week saying that he is at risk of being deported there despite never having set foot in that country.
Cruz says he came to America for protection and says he’s committed no crimes. He is a member of community immigration group Escucha Mi Vos, who organized Thursday’s rally. Iowa City Mayor Bruce Teague and Johnson County Supervisor Jon Green were among the community leaders who attended the rally, and called on members of Congress in Iowa and Minnesota to intervene and halt Cruz’s deportation.