Wednesday marks one year since an Arlington community journalist who was active in pro-Palestinian protests was arrested and taken into Immigrations and Customs Enforcement custody.
Ya’akub Ira Vijndre was detained Oct. 7, 2025, and sent to the Bluebonnet Detention Center. He was later transferred to the Folkston ICE Processing Center in Georgia – about 1,000 miles away from his home.
“Ya’akub was leaving his apartment to go to work when agents descended on him, guns blaring, yelling at him, screaming at him,” Eric Lee, Vijandre’s attorney, told KERA.
Vijandre, who is from the Philippines, had been living in the U.S. for two decades before he was arrested for allegedly overstaying his visa. Shortly before his arrest, his DACA status had been revoked over social media posts an ICE spokesperson said were “glorifying terrorism.”
“This case is about whether opposing this administration makes you a terrorist who can be subject to executive branch detention,” Lee said. “And that’s why it’s especially important that people are aware that this man has been locked up now for exactly a year.”
Vijandre was denied all forms of immigration relief earlier this year. His legal team filed a petition in a federal court in the Southern District in Georgia months ago asking for his release and is waiting for a decision.
“The government’s got to provide that answer by Monday,” Lee said. “And then we’ll have a ruling on the merits of our constitutional claims and that Ya’akub’s ongoing detention violates the Constitution.”
Lee said that’s significant because “the government has tried to avoid giving an answer to that question for so long.”
KERA reached out ICE for a statement and will update the story with any response.
A backlog of immigration cases has slowed proceedings. There were about 3.5 million immigration cases pending in federal court as of this summer.
Arlington community organizer Mohammed Ayachi is a friend of Vijandre and has kept in close contact with him. Ayachi said when he speaks to Vijandre it’s difficult to hear him because there are loud noises, toilets flushing in the background and people talking.
“There’s no sense of privacy, there’s no sense of dignity in an environment like that,” Ayachi said.
Although it’s challenging to pray, Ayachi said it’s Vijandre’s relationship to God that is helping him remain hopeful. “He’s always expressing gratitude,” Ayachi said.
But Vijandre is in pain, his friend said.
“He stands for what’s right, he speaks out against what’s wrong, and now he’s serving time for it – even though he has never committed a single crime.”
Ayachi said although Vijandre is suffering, he shares stories of people he feels are being wrongfully detained and asks friends to do something about it.
“Even while he’s being held as a victim, he’s still advocating for other victims in there,” Ayachi said. “It weighs heavy on him.”
Ayachi said he and Vijandre’s supporters are keeping a watchful eye on the federal court’s decision. His legal team remains optimistic.
“If the Constitution is still in force, then we’re hopeful that he’s going to be released,” Lee said.
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