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Venezuelan asylum seeker detained outside Walmart, fights for bond in federal court

Sep 30, 2026·Location: Bloomington, IN

Country of origin: Venezuela

Venezuelan asylum seeker detained outside Walmart, fights for bond in federal court
Photo via ipm.org

Manuel Alejandro Nadal-Ortiz, a Venezuelan asylum seeker with a pending work permit, was detained by ICE agents on September 1 outside a Bloomington Walmart where he worked as a delivery driver for DoorDash, Uber and Walmart. He was detained alongside Cesar Augusto Cepeda Gomez, another delivery driver. His girlfriend, Joanna Hanner, said his mother called her crying within minutes of the arrest, and the family spent the day calling detention centers before Ortiz reached them by phone that afternoon from Chicago, saying he was being transferred to a jail in Michigan. Hanner said Ortiz had no criminal record beyond a paid speeding ticket, closely monitored local ICE activity to avoid it, and was saving money to support his father in Venezuela. On September 24, Ortiz filed a habeas corpus petition in federal court in Michigan, and on September 30 a judge ordered the government to show cause for his continued detention, with a response due October 5. Unlike Cepeda Gomez, whose parallel habeas case led to a bond hearing, Ortiz's case remains in earlier litigation stages.

Timeline

Sep 30, 2026—Federal judge ordered government to show cause for his continued detention
Sep 24, 2026—Filed habeas corpus petition in federal court in Michigan
Sep 1, 2026—Detained by ICE agents outside a Bloomington Walmart alongside Cesar Augusto Cepeda Gomez
Sep 1, 2026—Transferred to Chicago and then to a jail in Michigan; family initially unable to locate him
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