Deng Dhieu Kuach Deng, a 19-year-old freshman basketball player at Southern Connecticut State University from Aweil, South Sudan, was detained by ICE agents on September 4, 2026 while attempting to board a domestic flight at Tweed New Haven Airport to visit his girlfriend in North Carolina. A witness described the arresting officers as 'very aggressive.' Deng had a pending asylum application with a valid Employment Authorization Document and no criminal history; attorneys Glenn Formica and Steven Strom filed a habeas corpus petition alleging an officer falsely claimed he had violated Temporary Protected Status he never held, and that his Fourth and Fifth Amendment rights were violated. He was held at the Wyatt Detention Facility in Rhode Island, which Formica described as involving 'hyper stress' conditions including sleeping on cement floors with foil blankets and broken toilets. Following advocacy from attorneys, university community members, and New Haven Mayor Justin Elicker, Deng was released on September 16. Sen. Richard Blumenthal called the detention unnecessary and illegal and sought an investigation into the regional ICE field office; SCSU said it remained in contact with him and was assisting where appropriate.