On October 3, 2026, what was supposed to be a routine company trip turned into a surprising ordeal for 31-year-old Chinese woman, Liping Lin. Lin suddenly found herself detained by ICE during a business trip in Los Angeles.
Lin and her colleagues arrived at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) on August 4th, prepared to board a domestic flight to Hawaii for a team-building activity organized by their company. However, just before boarding, she was taken away by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers.
Interestingly, ICE had not originally come to target her that day. According to newly released documents from the Eastern Division Court of the Central District of California, ICE was at the airport that day to execute an enforcement action against another individual based on a lead provided by the Transportation Security Administration (TSA).
Lin happened to be standing next to the individual ICE was targeting.
After verifying her identity, Lin presented her California ID. ICE discovered that her previous F-1 student visa had expired, leading to her arrest. What was meant to be a trip to Hawaii for company bonding turned into an immigration detention.
Lin was later taken to the ICE Los Angeles office for processing and then transferred to the Adelanto ICE Processing Center. The Department of Homeland Security served her with a Notice to Appear (I-862), alleging that she was subject to deportation under the Immigration and Nationality Act.
Lin’s American journey began 10 years ago. She legally entered the United States in July 2016 with an F-1 student visa. However, her student status was terminated on September 12th of the same year due to failure to enroll in classes.
In April 2017, she converted to Roman Catholicism. Two months later, citing religious beliefs and fear of persecution upon return to China, she applied for asylum.
Court documents reveal that she has been working for the same employer group since 2020, currently managing a branch in Diamond Bar with around 38 employees.
She resides in Hacienda Heights, has tax records, no criminal record, and a valid work permit.
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) issued her work permit in 2024, valid until March 10, 2029.
On August 13th, Lin’s lawyer applied for a review of her detention conditions and submitted a 31-page document including her passport, F-1 visa, work permit, W-2 tax documents, and employer statement.
However, on August 25th, an immigration judge denied her bail application, citing a flight risk, even with the posting of bail and other supervision measures.
Lin filed a petition for a restraining order with the Central District Federal Court of California, questioning the procedure of her ICE detention.
During the federal court proceedings, the judge scrutinized whether it was necessary for ICE to detain Lin immediately on August 4th when they encountered her at the airport.
The court found no evidence of an urgent situation requiring Lin’s immediate arrest. She was unexpectedly encountered by ICE while waiting to board the flight, and enforcement officers took almost four hours to reconstruct her case file.
The court also noted that Lin had been living in the United States for many years, waiting for her asylum application to be processed for about nine years, with no criminal record, no failure to report to the court or governmental agencies, and holding a valid work permit.
These circumstances became crucial factors in the court’s reassessment of the detention.
On September 14th, the federal court rendered a decision. The court ruled that Lin was deprived of her liberty without prior notice or an opportunity to be heard before a neutral decision-maker, thereby violating her due process rights protected by the Fifth Amendment.
Consequently, the government was ordered to release Lin immediately and return her personal belongings. The government must submit a report to the court within three days confirming the execution of the release order.
However, the court explicitly stated that the ruling was limited to the legality of the detention on August 4th and did not determine Lin’s legal immigration status or preclude ICE from detaining her again in the future.