Woman with torture protections detained months while DHS seeks third country for deportation
Mar 1, 2026·Location: Cottonwood Falls, KS
Country of origin: Trinidad and Tobago

Alisa Ramdial Shahib, a 46-year-old from Trinidad and Tobago who immigrated to the U.S. at age 19, has been detained by ICE at Chase County Detention Center since March 2026. Despite being granted a withholding of removal under the Convention Against Torture by a federal judge—a legal protection that bars her deportation to Trinidad and Tobago due to fears of persecution—DHS continues to detain her while searching for a third country willing to accept her. Shahib is separated from her U.S. citizen husband Secah, a PGA golf instructor, and her two children, one of whom is attending college. Over her decades in the U.S., she worked in modeling and commercial cleaning. Prior drug trafficking convictions prevent her from pursuing legal status. She communicates with her family through drawings mailed from detention while dealing with undisclosed medical issues, and her family remains uncertain about her final destination.
Sources
- Third-country deportation is increasing, leaving lives in limbo in Iowa and other states
iowapublicradio.org·Jul 15, 2026·archived copy
- A Missouri woman may be deported to a country she’s never been, away from her husband
KCUR·Jul 15, 2026·archived copy
- Missouri woman faces deportation to a strange country, while her husband remains behind
stlpr.org·Jul 17, 2026·archived copy
- Midwest third-country deportations leave families in limbo
holaamericanews.com·Jul 17, 2026·archived copy
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