India overstay gets grandma detained by ICE; was in US for 27 years, now denied meds

Indian-origin woman Venkata Vasamsetty, who has resided lawfully in the US for 27 years and has held a Green Card since 2013, has been detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), months after an American immigration judge terminated a pending deportation case against her. Vasamsetty, who is a public school teacher working with special-needs students in North Carolina, has no criminal record and is the mother of two US citizens and grandmother of two US citizen children, according to her family and immigration attorney.According to a report by the New York-based news outlet, Newsweek, Vasamsetty was taken into custody on August 11 during a scheduled ICE-check in at the city of Charlotte. Newsweek reported that she was being held at the Irwin County Detention Center in the state of Georgia, located more than 500 kilometres from where she was detained.Vasamsetty's detention stems from a dispute over whether she abandoned her lawful permanent resident status after spending several months in India in 2022.Immigration attorney Zoe Wilson, a former colleague and friend of Vasamsetty's daughter, described her case in an August 13 LinkedIn post, saying she had received the family's permission to discuss the case publicly. "Mrs Venkata Narsamamba Vasamsetty, is a Green Card holder. She has no criminal history. She has lived lawfully in this country for decades," Wilson wrote. She added that Vasamsetty had maintained "lawful immigration status throughout that time".Wilson also said Vasamsetty is "severely diabetic" and requires glucose monitoring and medical care.WHY DID VENKATA VASAMSETTY TRAVEL TO INDIA IN 2022? Venkata Vasamsetty travelled to India in July 2022 to care for her elderly parents according to her attorney, Helen Parsonage, and family friend Zoe Wilson, who spoke to the US-based news outlet, NRI Pulse. Her return to the US was, however, delayed after she contracted Covid-19 and developed further health complications.Wilson wrote that Vasamsetty "became ill enough that she was hospitalised in India for nearly two weeks". After being discharged, other medical problems prevented her from making the long journey back immediately.She eventually returned to the US in February 2023, about seven months after leaving.Note, under American immigration rules, Green Card holders can travel abroad, but extended absences can lead authorities to examine whether they intended to maintain the US as their permanent home. An absence of more than 180 days can trigger additional scrutiny when a permanent resident returns.US authorities subsequently alleged that the length of her absence indicated that she had abandoned her permanent residency. Vasamsetty and her legal team disputed that claim, arguing that she had maintained strong ties to the US through her home, employment and family.The family's Change.org petition says she was in the process of purchasing a house in North Carolina and had no intention of permanently returning to India when she travelled there.IMMIGRATION CASE AGAINST VASAMSETTY WAS TERMINATED IN MAY THIS YEARAfter returning to the US, Venkata Vasamsetty was allowed to remain with her family while federal authorities pursued removal proceedings. She was required to report regularly to ICE's Charlotte office.A Change.org petition launched by supporters seeking her release, (which has 3,388 verified signatures as of filing this report) says Vasamsetty attended "every single ICE appointment" and that her lawyers submitted documents showing she had no intention of abandoning her US residence.The government was required to provide evidence supporting its claim. According to Vasamsetty's attorney, DHS failed to meet the court-imposed deadline.On May 19 this year, an immigration judge terminated removal proceedings against Vasamsetty. The petition quotes the judge's finding, "DHS has not met their burden of proving by clear and convincing evidence that Respondent is removable as charged."Despite the termination, Vasamsetty still had a scheduled ICE check-in on July 11. According to the petition, she attended the appointment and carried a copy of the judge's order.She was allegedly told to return the following month because ICE had "not updated their records" and the attorney handling the matter was not present.When Vasamsetty returned to the Charlotte ICE office on August 11, she was detained.Wilson alleged in her LinkedIn post that there was "No warning. No notice. No opportunity to prepare" before Vasamsetty was taken into custody. She also wrote that Vasamsetty, who was severely diabetic, "did not have her insulin or medical supplies" at the time of her detention. The Change.org petition claimed that Vasamsetty was not receiving appropriate care in detention, noting that, "She has been provided inadequate care and no appropriate accommodations for culturally sensitive food that is appropriate for a diabetic."She also said there had been "no regard for the fact that an Immigration Judge had already terminated her removal proceedings" or for her medical condition.Vasamsetty's lawyers have challenged her detention in federal court through an emergency habeas corpus petition. On August 13, a federal judge ordered immigration authorities to explain the legal basis for continuing to hold her within three days, reported Newsweek.Immigration attorney Wilson said Vasamsetty's case should concern others with lawful status, writing, "If this can happen to her, people need to understand what this means".The Change.org campaign is calling for Vasamsetty's immediate release, arguing that her decades in the US, clean record, family ties, employment and the immigration judge's decision terminating her case should weigh in her favour.- EndsPublished By: Shounak SanyalPublished On: Aug 18, 2026 18:33 IST