Indian-origin guitarist, green-card holder detained as Trump ICE drive intensifies

Two Indian-origin individuals have been detained by US immigration authorities in separate cases. The incidents have sharpened concerns over tougher deportation enforcement under Donald Trump's second term.Two separate immigration cases involving Indian-origin individuals in the US have drawn attention as the Donald Trump administration steps up deportations and enforcement. One case involves New Delhi-born jazz guitarist and educator Pritesh Walia, while the other concerns Venkata Vasamsetty, a green-card holder detained in North Carolina.Walia said he was detained by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement after returning to Los Angeles earlier this month and spent 14 days in custody before being released on bond. Vasamsetty, who has held a US green card since 2013, was detained by ICE on August 11 during a scheduled check-in, months after an immigration judge dismissed an earlier removal case against her.According to a written statement posted on Instagram, Walia was taken to the Adelanto ICE Processing Centre after his detention. It is not immediately clear what visa he held or why exactly he was detained. In a video on Saturday, he said his immigration case was still ongoing.According to a Newsweek report published on Friday, Vasamsetty has lived in the US for 27 years and works with special-needs students in North Carolina. She is a mother of two and has two grandchildren, all of whom are US citizens. The report said she travelled to India in 2022 to care for an ailing parent and returned to the US in February 2023 after her stay was extended by illness, including COVID-19. Her lawyer has disputed allegations that she abandoned her permanent residency. The US Citizenship and Immigration Services says legal permanent residents, including green-card holders, who spend more than 180 days outside the country can face additional scrutiny on re-entry, including examination of whether they maintained US residency and intended to keep the US as their permanent home. Newsweek reported that an immigration judge dismissed the removal case against Vasamsetty on May 19 after the Department of Homeland Security failed to meet a deadline to submit evidence. She continued to attend scheduled ICE check-ins, but was detained when she appeared at the agency's Charlotte office on August 11. Her legal team later filed an emergency habeas corpus petition challenging her detention at the Irwin County Detention Centre in Georgia, and a federal judge on August 13 ordered immigration authorities to explain the legal basis for keeping her in custody.The two cases have come at a time of sharper immigration enforcement in Trump's second term, with deportations and tighter immigration controls being made a policy priority. US Department of Homeland Security data shows that more than 27,800 Indian nationals were detained by ICE between 2022 and 2025. With PTI Inputs- EndsPublished By: India Today Web Desk Published On: Aug 18, 2026 14:42 IST