ICE Detains Russian Asylum Seeker, Releases Him Without Work Permit
A federal class-action lawsuit now tests whether immigration enforcement agencies must return confiscated documentation to released detainees, a question with broad implications for due process...
A Russian asylum seeker held in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention for several months was released but did not receive his work authorization permit or other personal documents returned to him, according to La Nacion. The man, identified as an asylum applicant, said he cannot secure employment or meet rent obligations for the home he shares with his wife and two children as a direct result of lacking those documents.
The case has entered federal court as part of a class-action lawsuit seeking the return of work permits and related materials that ICE retained after releasing detainees, according to La Nacion. The filing represents a broader legal challenge to ICE's document retention practices, with multiple plaintiffs reportedly in similar circumstances.
Work authorization in the United States for asylum seekers is issued by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) in the form of an Employment Authorization Document (EAD). Federal regulation at 8 CFR 274a.13 governs the issuance and renewal of EADs. The document is required by employers to verify a worker's legal right to accept employment under the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986.
Without a valid EAD, an asylum seeker cannot present the documentation required on an I-9 employment eligibility verification form. Most employers are legally prohibited from hiring a worker who cannot complete that form, effectively barring the individual from formal employment regardless of their underlying legal status.
ICE policy, as published on the agency's official website, states that property belonging to detainees should be inventoried and returned upon release. The lawsuit, as reported by La Nacion, alleges the agency is not following that policy in practice. ICE had not issued a public statement on this specific litigation as of the date of this reporting.
The scope of the proposed class action is not fully detailed in the available reporting. What would clarify the case's reach is a public docketing of the complaint, including the number of named and unnamed plaintiffs, the federal district in which it was filed, and the precise legal theory advanced by counsel.
Asylum seekers in the United States occupy a particular legal category. They have filed a claim for protection under the Immigration and Nationality Act but have not yet received a final determination. Under current USCIS rules, an asylum applicant may apply for an EAD 180 days after filing a complete asylum application. The permit confers no permanent immigration status but allows legal employment during the pending period.
ICE arrested and detained more than 100,000 individuals in fiscal year 2024, according to the agency's own statistical data published on ice.gov. The agency operates approximately 200 detention facilities nationwide, according to the same source. Property handling at that scale involves thousands of individual intake and release transactions per month.
The legal question at the center of the lawsuit, whether ICE is obligated to return documents it did not issue and does not own, has not been definitively resolved by a federal appellate court, according to available public records. Lower court decisions have varied based on the specific circumstances of each case.
The Russian national's account, as reported by La Nacion, describes a practical consequence of document retention: an inability to pay rent and support dependents. He is now one of the named participants in the federal class action. The outcome of that litigation would determine whether ICE must establish a formal document return procedure for similarly situated detainees upon release.