ICE arrests UC Berkeley student and asylum seeker at San Francisco airport

At SFO, ICE detained Paula Valentina Albornoz Hernandez after an agent approached her in plain clothes and asked her name. The arrest matters because it shows a broader enforcement approach. Officers are targeting people who previously overstayed visas, even with unresolved immigration cases.

On Friday night, Albornoz Hernandez was waiting at the gate with her boyfriend, Anthony, before a weekend trip. The agent guessed names until she confirmed hers, then agents separated the couple and cited her expired visa. She was later held at Stockton Detention Center before transfer to California City.

Her attorney said she had a pending asylum application, valid work permit, and no criminal record. DHS said she entered legally on September 6, 2022, but stayed after March 6, 2023. Her attorneys filed a habeas petition seeking release, while UC Berkeley supports her return to studies.

Immigration permission sets how long someone may lawfully remain, while other filings can continue afterward. Paula Valentina Albornoz Hernandez entered the United States on September 6, 2022, with permission through March 6, 2023.

That period was about six months. At her airport arrest, she had a valid work permit and a pending asylum application, filed after she sought protection from severe gender-based violence in Colombia. The work permit allowed her to work, but DHS said it did not itself create immigration status.

Her attorneys say the pending asylum case and work permit should have mattered when ICE decided to detain her. DHS says she overstayed after March 6, 2023, and will receive due process during removal proceedings. The case shows that permission to work or await an asylum decision does not necessarily prevent detention when the original authorized stay has expired.

ICE stands for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, a federal agency within the Department of Homeland Security. It enforces immigration laws, including arrests and removals. Immigration detention means holding someone in government custody while officials pursue removal proceedings. This is generally civil detention, not a criminal sentence, though it can restrict liberty and separate families.

In this case, ICE detained UC Berkeley student Paula Valentina Albornoz Hernandez at San Francisco International Airport. She had overstayed her visa, but her asylum application remained pending and she had a valid work permit. ICE transferred her from Stockton Detention Center to California City, where she awaits removal proceedings.

DHS said a pending asylum application or work authorization does not create legal immigration status. The agency said she will receive due process while remaining in custody. Her attorneys seek release, arguing ICE lacked a warrant and failed to assess whether she posed a flight risk.

A pending asylum case and a work permit do not automatically give someone lawful immigration status, according to DHS. If a person’s authorized stay ends, ICE may still place them in custody while removal proceedings continue.

The article describes Paula Valentina Albornoz Hernandez, a 23-year-old Berkeley student from Colombia. She entered in 2022, overstayed a visa, and had a pending asylum application and valid work permit. DHS said those documents did not confer legal status, so agents detained her at San Francisco International Airport.

The case shows how immigration enforcement can separate permission to work from permission to remain. ICE said she would receive due process, while the article reports stepped-up airport arrests targeting past visa overstays. Her lawyers argue detention violated federal law and seek release unless the government proves flight risk or danger.

The immediate legal question is whether a federal court will order her released from ICE detention. Attorneys filed a habeas corpus petition, asking the court to test whether detention violates federal law or the Constitution. Separate immigration removal proceedings will decide whether she may stay or must leave.

In Albornoz Hernandez’s case, attorneys say agents lacked a warrant and did not assess flight risk before arresting her. They ask the court to release her unless the government proves she poses a flight risk or community danger. DHS says she overstayed her authorized stay, and detention can continue while removal proceedings proceed.

She remains at California City Detention Center, and her asylum application is pending. DHS said a valid work permit does not itself provide legal status. The detention ruling and immigration case will determine whether she returns to Berkeley, remains detained, or faces removal.

A habeas corpus petition is a request for a court to review whether the government is lawfully holding someone. It can lead to release or a new hearing if detention violates the law. The process gives detained people a chance to challenge custody before a judge.

In this case, attorneys at Centro Legal de la Raza filed the petition for UC Berkeley student Paula Valentina Albornoz Hernandez. They argue ICE detained her without presenting a warrant or first assessing whether she was a flight risk. The petition asks for her release and a hearing before renewed detention, unless the government proves she poses a flight risk or danger.

ICE says she overstayed her visa and will receive due process. Her asylum application was pending, and she had a valid work permit, but DHS says neither creates legal status. The article reports no ruling, so the petition remains a legal challenge, not proof that she will be released.

Asylum is a request for protection from persecution or serious harm in a person’s home country. People apply because returning may be unsafe. A visa, by contrast, is temporary permission to enter or remain for an approved purpose, such as study or travel.

Paula Valentina Albornoz Hernandez entered the United States from Colombia in 2022 on a visa. She later overstayed, then sought asylum after experiencing severe gender-based violence, according to her attorney. Her application remains pending, and she had a valid work permit.

Her case shows how these systems can overlap. ICE detained her at San Francisco International Airport, despite the pending application and work permit. DHS said those documents do not create legal status and said she remains in custody during removal proceedings. Her attorneys filed a federal petition seeking her release.