ICE Releases Woman Wrongfully Detained at LA Airport Due to Mistaken Identity
According to Chinese media NetEase News: www.163.com/dy/article/L8A1IBJP05149C6P.html
The woman who was grabbed by 4 ICE officers at the LA Airport was identified as, Liping Lin, 31 years old, Chinese citizen, residing in Hacienda Heights, Southern California.
She entered the U.S. on an F-1 visa in July 2016, and later on in 2017, she applied for asylum on the grounds of religious belief and fear of persecution if returned to China; the case remains under review to this day.
ICE officers at the scene were not targeting her, they were pursuing another individual based on a TSA tip.
Standing beside the real target, ICE officers mistook her for the target and she was immediately taken into custody, transported to the ICE Los Angele field office, and later transferred to the Adelanto Processing Center.
An immigration judge then denied her bail citing flight risk.
However, the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California granted partial relief in her habeas corpus petition, ruling that her detention violated due process.
The court noted that there were no exigent circumstances requiring an immediate arrest on site, pointing out that ICE spent nearly four hours setting up a processing file after encountering her. The court highlighted that Lin has lived in the U.S. for nearly a decade with a pending asylum claim for nine years, holds a valid work permit, pays taxes, and has no criminal record, entitling her to notice and a hearing prior to detention.
The federal court ordered her immediate release and the return of her personal belongings.