A Bolivian national and Iowa City resident was temporarily released from Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody, according to a news release from immigrant advocacy organization Escucha Mi Voz.
Jose Yugar Cruz, who was born in Bolivia, was due to be deported to the Democratic Republic of the Congo despite a court order barring his deportation to his home country of Bolivia due to the risk of torture or persecution.
He was released on Friday, May 29, in Cedar Rapids to avoid deportation to the Congo because of an ongoing Ebola virus outbreak ravaging the central African country.
ICE ordered his removal to the Congo as it continues to seek Third-Country Removal Agreements with other countries.
Yugar Cruz was detained in the Linn County jail while he awaited deportation after his arrest on April 8, and was nearly deported before a judge blocked his removal.
Local immigrant advocacy organizations, including Escucha Mi Voz, protested his detainment and pending deportation to the Congo, holding an April 30 protest at the Linn County Jail and a May 5 demonstration outside the Cedar Rapids ICE office.
Yugar Cruz was appreciative of the ongoing advocacy while he was detained, and spoke out against third-country deportations.
“The fight continues forward,” Yugar Cruz said in a Friday news release from Escucha Mi Voz.
Yugar Cruz spent majority of time in the U.S. in detention since 2024
Yugar Cruz entered the U.S. through Arizona in July 2024, where he surrendered himself to law enforcement. He applied for asylum in October 2024 and later received an order blocking his removal from the U.S. based on the torture he previously faced in Bolivia.
ICE previously attempted to deport Yugar Cruz to Argentina, Chile, Paraguay, Mexico, and Canada during his original 17-month detainment.
After filing a suit against ICE for violating his due process rights and the Immigration and Nationality Act, he was released from the Muscatine County Jail in December 2025.
In April, ICE officials learned the Congo would accept Yugar-Cruz. He was then arrested and set for deportation to the Congo.
Liam Halawith covers Johnson County local government and public safety for the Press-Citizen. Reach him by email at lhalawith@registermedia.com. Follow him on X at @liam_halawith.
This article originally appeared on Iowa City Press-Citizen: DHS releases Bolivian immigrant from custody, he avoids deportation
Reporting by Liam Halawith, Iowa City Press-Citizen / Iowa City Press-Citizen
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