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ICE Detains Grandma With Green Card Due to COVID Delaying Return to US
0 Share Newsweek is a Trust Project member See more of our trusted coverage when you search. Prefer Newsweek on Google to see more of our trusted coverage when you search. A North Carolina teacher and longtime green-card holder was detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) earlier this week, months after an immigration judge dismissed an effort to remove her from the country, according to her attorney cited in NRI Pulse.
Venkata Vasamsetty, a lawful permanent resident (LPR) since 2013, was taken into custody during a scheduled ICE check-in despite a judge's May ruling terminating the government's prior deportation case against her. Newsweek confirmed through ICE's Online Detainee Locator System that Vasamsetty is being held at a detention facility in Georgia, as of Friday.
Her case stemmed from government allegations that Vasamsetty had abandoned her lawful permanent residency after spending several months in India in 2022 while caring for an ailing parent and recovering from COVID-19. Vasamsetty’s family and lawyer disputed the claim, arguing she maintained substantial ties to the United States through her family, employment and home.
While LPRs are authorized to live permanently in the U.S., green-card holders can still face removal proceedings under federal immigration law in some circumstances. More than 1.3 million people obtained a green card in fiscal year 2025, according to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), with a total of around 13 million in the U.S. Several high-profile cases involving green-card holders facing detention and deportation proceedings, such as Mahmoud Khalil, have emerged during the Trump administration's immigration crackdown.
Immigration has been one of the central priorities of President Donald Trump's second administration. Trump campaigned on promises to expand deportations, tighten border security and increase immigration enforcement, arguing the measures are needed to uphold immigration laws and improve public safety. Many supporters have backed the crackdown as a fulfillment of those campaign pledges and enforcement of immigration laws, while critics and immigrant advocacy groups have raised concerns about due process and the detention of individuals with legal status, including some LPRs.
Newsweek has reached out to the DHS and ICE as well as Vasamsetty’s lawyer and daughter for comment via email on Friday.
In the post, Wilson wrote: “Mrs. Venkata Narsamamba Vasamsetty, is a green card holder. She has no criminal history. She has lived lawfully in this country for decades.”
Wilson said Vasamsetty became an LPR in 2013 and has maintained "lawful immigration status throughout that time." She also described Vasamsetty as the mother of two U.S. citizen children and grandmother of two U.S. citizen grandchildren. Wilson also noted that she is "severely diabetic. She requires glucose monitoring and medical care."
According to Wilson and Vasamsetty's attorney, Helen Parsonage who spoke with NRI Pulse, Vasamsetty traveled to India in July 2022 to care for her elderly, ill parents. Her return was delayed after she contracted COVID-19 and experienced additional health complications.
Wilson wrote that Vasamsetty "became ill enough that she was hospitalized in India for nearly two weeks. After she was discharged, there were other medical issues that further delayed her ability to make a long international trip." Vasamsetty returned to the U.S. in February 2023, roughly seven months after leaving.
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) states on its website “permanent residents are free to travel outside the United States, and temporary or brief travel usually does not affect your permanent resident status. If it is determined, however, that you did not intend to make the United States your permanent home, you will be found to have abandoned your permanent resident status.”
LPRs who spend more than 180 days outside the U.S. can face additional scrutiny upon reentry, including examination of whether they maintained U.S. residency and intended to keep the United States as their permanent home.
Vasamsetty's attorney told NRI Pulse that the DHS alleged that Vasamsetty’s extended absence demonstrated that she abandoned her permanent residency and subsequently placed her in removal proceedings. Vasamsetty countered those allegations and her legal team submitted documentation that she worked to maintain her life in the U.S. while she was out of the country.
According to Parsonage, DHS failed to meet a court-imposed deadline to submit evidence supporting its case. An immigration judge dismissed the removal proceedings on May 19, 2026.
Vasamsetty continued to report for scheduled ICE check-ins. Her attorney said she appeared at the agency's Charlotte office on July 11 and was instructed to return on August 11. When she returned on that date, she was taken into custody by ICE.
ICE reportedly does not view her as a green card holder, according to Wilson.
After Vasamsetty’s legal team filed an emergency habeas corpus petition challenging her continued detention at the Irwin County Detention Center in Georgia, a federal judge ordered immigration authorities to explain within three days the legal basis for her detention. The order was filed on August 13.
The use of federal habeas corpus petitions has surged during Trump's second term as immigration attorneys increasingly challenge the legality of ICE detentions in federal court.
According to an analysis by ProPublica, immigrants had filed more than 69,000 habeas petitions challenging their detention since January 2025—more than were filed during the previous three presidential administrations combined, including Trump's first.
The judge's order states that the court will consider scheduling a hearing after immigration authorities submit their response and supporting evidence.
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