Valentina G. and Naythan: Asylum-seeking mother and U.S. citizen infant held in hotel by ICE
Colombian asylum seeker Valentina Galvis and her infant son, a U.S. citizen, were detained after a Chicago court hearing and held in an O'Hare hotel room for five days.
Jun 9, 2025Chicago, ILCountry of origin: Colombia

Valentina Galvis, a Colombian asylum seeker, went to Chicago Immigration Court on June 5, 2025, expecting a hearing after her husband Camilo had been granted asylum in the same court two weeks earlier; the couple had fled far-right paramilitary violence in Colombia in 2022, and Galvis had survived a brutal assault by the group. Instead, federal prosecutors moved to dismiss her case, and plainclothes agents detained her immediately after she left the courtroom. Galvis and her seven-month-old son Naythan, a U.S. citizen, were taken by ICE contractor MVM Inc. to a Sonesta hotel near O'Hare Airport, where they were confined to a two-room suite for five days under constant guard, with the phone removed and no information given about their whereabouts. ICE's online locator falsely showed Galvis being held more than 700 miles away in Washington, D.C. Her attorney filed a habeas corpus petition, and a judge ordered she not be removed from Illinois, but ICE did not inform her of this. She was released on the fifth day to ICE's Intensive Supervision Appearance Program office and fitted with an electronic monitoring bracelet; her asylum case dismissal is now on appeal with a new case pending.
Timeline
Tags
Sources
- ICE Contractor Locked a Mother and Her Baby in a Hotel Room for Five Days
The Intercept·Aug 7, 2025
- ICE contractor locked an immigrant and her baby at an O’Hare hotel for five days
Injustice Watch·Aug 7, 2025·archived copy
- ICE contractor locked an immigrant and her baby in an O’Hare hotel for 5 days
Chicago Sun-Times·Aug 15, 2025·archived copy
- Mother And Baby Held In Hotel Room For Five Days By ICE Contractor
Parriva·Aug 14, 2025·archived copy
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