Charlotte nursing student arrested by ICE in February to go to Honduras

Allison Bustillo Chinchilla, a young nurse from Charlotte currently held at an immigration detention center in Georgia, has been granted relief by an immigration judge that allows her to leave the country voluntarily instead of being deported — a decision that will enable her to return to the United States without facing a 10-year reentry ban.

Allison, 20, has been detained for six months at the Stewart Detention Center in Lumpkin, Georgia. She had nearly given up her legal fight due to health issues and unsanitary conditions at the facility. Then, unexpectedly, she was informed on Tuesday, Aug. 26, that she would have a hearing that same day.

She was arrested on the morning of Feb. 20 at her home in Charlotte while caring for her three younger siblings — the youngest of whom has autism — while her mother was at work.

The chaotic arrest was carried out by ICE agents who forcibly entered the apartment heavily armed, looking for someone else.

Judge grants Allison’s request

Keily Chinchilla, her mother, watched the hearing on her phone via the Webex platform. She said it lasted about an hour.

“They moved up her hearing with almost no notice. She was desperate and couldn’t take it anymore. The government attorney said she would be removed from the country, but she asked the judge for voluntary departure — the least they could do for her,” Keily told Enlace Latino NC.

Allison said that “ICE shattered her dreams of continuing her education.” The young woman had graduated as a nursing assistant and had earned a $60,000 scholarship to attend Gardner-Webb University.

She will be able to return without punishment

Her case was handled by attorney Marty Rosenbluth, who had filed an asylum application as a last resort to prevent her deportation.

“Allison wanted to leave the country in a way that would allow her to come back because her mother is in the process of applying for a green card. Once her mother gets it, she’ll be able to apply for Allison’s return,” Rosembluth told Enlace Latino NC.

The attorney explained that Allison was technically not eligible for voluntary departure because she was classified as an undocumented immigrant. However, the relief granted by the judge is effectively the same: she can leave on a commercial flight without a removal order and won’t face the 10-year bar from reentering the country.

Lingering frustration

Still, Keily is not entirely satisfied with her daughter’s decision, as she didn’t want her to have to leave the country.

“I’m frustrated after so much fighting, and that they didn’t allow her to stay, even though she has no criminal record and has been a good person and student. Now she has to go back to Honduras — a country she doesn’t know and where her life could be in danger,” the mother said.

She sought a habeas corpus petition

In her efforts to stop her daughter’s deportation, Keily also paid $3,500 in July to another attorney to file a habeas corpus petition. But according to the mother, the petition was filed just before the hearing.

This legal procedure is used to request a court review of a person’s arrest or detention, which could have allowed Allison to appear before a judge in person to determine whether her arrest was lawful and potentially secure her release.

“My daughter could have been released, because the arrest was illegal — they forced their way into my home looking for someone else,” she said.

Although Allison’s exact departure date is still unknown, she could be leaving soon. She will return to Honduras — the country she left at age 8 — where she will live with her maternal grandparents and start over from scratch.

Enlace Latino NC is a news partner of The Charlotte Observer.