A Bolivian immigrant detained in Cedar Rapids as he awaits deportation to the Democratic Republic of Congo shared a message with his supporters ahead of a rally to call for his release.
José Yugar-Cruz shared an audio message from the Linn County Jail, released and translated from Spanish to English by immigration group Escucha Mi Voz Iowa. He thanked his supporters and said he is afraid of deportation to a country he has never set foot in.
“I have the support of our group Escucha Mi Voz and I know that with all the help from all of you, I know that we are going to win and I hope that they will give me freedom, because the truth is I am not a dangerous person,” Yugar-Cruz said. “I didn’t commit any crime. I only came to ask for protection.”
Yugar-Cruz has spent the majority of his time in custody since entering the U.S. in July 2024, having crossed into Arizona and surrendered himself to law enforcement. He applied for asylum in October that year and received a judgment withholding his removal from the U.S. based on torture he previously faced in Bolivia and could face again if he went back.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement attempted to deport Yugar-Cruz to Argentina, Chile, Paraguay, Mexico and Canada without success during his 17-month detainment, despite the judge’s ruling. In December 2025, Yugar-Cruz won his release from the Muscatine County Jail with ICE supervision in a lawsuit alleging violations of Yugar-Cruz’s due process rights and the Immigration Nationality Act.
After learning in March that Congo would accept Yugar-Cruz as part of a Third-Country Removal Agreement President Donald Trump’s administration reached with that country’s government, Yugar-Cruz was once again detained April 8 and nearly deported before the before a judge blocked his removal.
However, on Monday, the same federal judge denied Yugar-Cruz’s motion for a block on his deportation from the U.S., citing recent U.S. Supreme Court rulings removing injunctions blocking such removals.
Yugar-Cruz said in his audio message he is fighting to stay in the U.S. and knows he and his supporters will win.
“You are seeing a lot of injustice here, they are sending several people to the Republic of Congo,” Yugar-Cruz said. “And the truth is, they are including me on this flight anyway, so what they are trying to do with me is make me stay in the Congo and I am afraid to go to this country.”
Find this story at Iowa Capital Dispatch, which is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Iowa Capital Dispatch maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Kathie Obradovich for questions: kobradovich@iowacapitaldispatch.com
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Why is a Bolivian immigrant detained in Iowa being sent to Africa?
Reporting by Brooklyn Draisey, Iowa Capital Dispatch / Des Moines Register
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