He didn’t know who had stopped him, or why. The men dressed in black wouldn’t say. “License and registration!” “Who are you, and why did you stop me?” “Give me your documents!” “’Sir, I’ll give you my documents, but I just want to know who you are. Why did you stop me?” The men began to scream. “Are you legal or illegal? Are you legal or illegal?” He called his wife and told her he thought he was being pulled over by immigration authorities. He said he would try to record it. That’s when, he said, one of the men reached into the truck and snatched his phone. “I heard him say, ‘Sir, I’m cooperating! I’m not fighting! I’m cooperating!’ ” the man’s wife said. “Then I hear the gentleman scream, ‘Get out of the car.’ And I just hear lots of commotion, and I hear the phone being thrown.” The call ended. She found her husband’s abandoned work truck on the side of a road later that day. By then, he had been transferred to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement — the beginning of his monthlong stay in immigration detention. The man came to the United States seven years ago seeking asylum from Honduras. In that time, his most significant interaction with law enforcement was a speeding ticket. After his arrest by ICE, he spent time at the federal immigration detention center in Farmville — an experience he said haunts him daily. He is now free on bond and has returned to work at the construction business he built in Virginia Beach. But his chances of securing asylum are diminishing. The Virginian-Pilot and Daily Press interviewed the couple several times and reviewed records related to his asylum case. They spoke on condition of anonymity and are only being identified by the pseudonyms Juan and Marie, because they fear retaliation. A Virginia Beach man who spent a month in immigration detention poses for a picture in Virginia Beach, Va., on March 6, 2026. (Peter Casey / The Virginian-Pilot) Seeking asylum For several months, ICE has been ramping up arrests of Hampton Roads residents. ICE did not answer questions about how extensive Hampton Roads immigration operations are or how many people have been detained on civil violations. According to paperwork, court filings and applications reviewed by The Virginian-Pilot and Daily Press, at the time of his arrest, Juan had an active asylum case and marriage petition with Marie, an American citizen. He did not have a removal order or warrant for his arrest. Reports about ICE interactions from across the country describe aggressive tactics and difficult conditions in detention facilities. Many stopped and detained by ICE have said they believe they were targeted because they were driving construction vehicles or because they were profiled for looking Hispanic or speaking Spanish. “They cannot give us a reason why they’re arresting regular nonviolent, non-criminal individuals out of the street,” said Patricia Bracknell, president and founder of the Chamber for Hispanic Progress, an organization dedicated to empowering the Hispanic community in Hampton Roads. Because of his civil immigration arrest, Juan’s case is being heard in federal immigration court. He will pay thousands of dollars to an attorney to refile and defend his asylum case. Still, his wife said they have been advised by their lawyer to prepare for Juan’s deportation. “It feels scary because I don’t have nothing right now, so I’m going to start from the beginning now. I’ve spent so much money in this process too, and now I have to start again,” Juan said. “I don’t do anything wrong. I was doing everything good.” At 10:05 on a weekday morning, Juan was on his way to work for the construction business he started the same year he arrived in the U.S. While his asylum case has been working its way through the system, Juan has obtained a work permit, license and Social Security card to work in Virginia. That day, he was driving his work truck with a ladder secured to the roof to a job site with his coworker in the passenger seat. Juan said he was almost to his exit when he saw an unmarked white Ford F-150 with a flashing police light on its dashboard tailing him. Juan pulled over on the side of the highway, rolled down his window and turned off the ignition. That’s when, he said, the two men dressed in black shirts with the word “Police” in small lettering across the front began screaming at him and his passenger for their documents. Juan said they didn’t sound like “normal police.” He said they wouldn’t identify themselves or tell him why he was being stopped or what he had done wrong. He was terrified. “I don’t see any camera in his body. I don’t see no weapon. I don’t see nothing. So that scared me because I don’t know who was pulling me over.” He told the coworker to record the interaction, but he was frozen in fear. When the men started asking him about his immigration status, Juan called Marie to let her know he thought ICE was detaining him. He pulled his phone out to record, but said the man grabbed it, reached into the truck to open his door and pulled Juan down to the ground. A cell phone image taken before the arrest of Juan. (Courtesy photo) Only one photo of the encounter exists — a blurry image that appears to show a hand over the camera lens and a vehicle in the background. Juan and his coworker were placed in handcuffs. The men who had arrested them took his phone and license. When Marie got to the truck, she said, it had been moved off the highway exit into a neighborhood and rummaged through. At no point, Juan said, did the people identify themselves as immigration enforcement officers. According to Department of Homeland Security policy, immigration agents must identify themselves as soon as it is “practical” and “safe” to do so. Another vehicle drove up behind them. The two men who arrested him then handed him over to an officer wearing a DHS uniform. He identified himself as an immigration agent and told them they were being detained. The immigration agent then drove them to an office in downtown Norfolk, which Juan said was near the jail. The regional ICE office is in the Norfolk Federal Building. When he arrived, he said there were about 12 people there being processed and given self-deportation paperwork. He said he was offered $3,000 to leave the country voluntarily. Juan’s coworker signed the paper. But Juan, who is conversational in English, did not want to be pressured into signing. He asked the officers for a hearing with a judge about his active asylum case. The long road to detention Juan came to the U.S. in 2019 as a political refugee. He successfully completed a credible fear interview, which assesses the likelihood that someone may be persecuted or tortured if they were to return to their country of origin. Juan has since been in the process of seeking U.S. citizenship. Juan said an officer took him aside and said he would help him find a court date. It was scheduled for three weeks later. That day, Juan was transferred to Riverside Regional Jail in Prince George County for temporary holding. Local advocates say Riverside is a temporary stop for many detainees on their way to the two immigration detention facilities in Virginia, one in Farmville and one in Caroline County. Juan became emotional describing the experience of being stripped and drug tested upon arrival at Riverside. “The process is horrible, so I don’t want to go back (to Riverside) no more. Never. It’s a lot of mental pressure.” He felt like he was being treated like a criminal. “It just bothers me a little bit,” he said, fighting back tears. After two days at Riverside, he was taken to Farmville Detention Center, about 70 miles west of Richmond. He said he was put in a small room with about 20 other detainees for six hours. They were given a small sandwich to eat. Despite being a low-security detainee, Juan said he was first put in the color jumpsuit for the highest security detainees. He said that according to the staff, they had run out of low-security jumpsuits that matched his status. He said he was afraid of being attacked or mistaken for a gang member. “My stomach hurt, I wanted to throw up. I was crying because I didn’t want people to think I was a criminal, maybe try to fight me or do anything like that to me,” Juan said. During his medical evaluation the next day, he told a nurse what happened, and said she was able to get him the correct color jumpsuit for his security level. “I don’t know what’s going on there, but they was doing almost everything wrong,” he said. ICE did not respond to requests for comment about the operations at Farmville. Juan would be detained there for four weeks. He described the men’s holding space as a large open room with bunk beds. Juan said he was held with about 80 other men at a time, with detainees coming and going daily. While inside, Juan said he met “good people and bad people, but I see more good people. A pastor, fathers of families, hard-working men.” Almost all, he said, were involved in some form of legal process to attain citizenship. Juan said that like himself, many of the men had work permits. He was dismayed by the experience. “I was asking myself, what’s going on? Because I was following the rules. I was going to the court. I was working for it.” On Feb. 20, DHS announced a proposed rule change to the work authorization process for asylum seekers such as Juan, saying the administration wants to tighten eligibility and enforce stricter screenings of those who entered the country illegally. Under the law, it is only possible to file for asylum from U.S. soil, and many do so upon their arrival, like Juan. Juan said one of the most harrowing parts of his time in Farmville was seeing men with serious medical issues wait days for care. He remembers one man with severe swelling who screamed and begged for an ambulance after days without treatment. The man was eventually taken away, and Juan never saw him again. In 2024, a compliance inspection conducted by the Office of Detention Oversight made more than a dozen medical and mental health related findings at Farmville Detention Center, including that the facility’s medical leadership had failed to review some detainees’ comprehensive medical assessments. As a result, detainees may not have been correctly prioritized for medical care. Aixin Aydin, an advocacy manager at The Amica Center for Immigrant Rights who researches immigration detention centers, said proper access to medical care is an issue at facilities across the country. “Unfortunately this is just something really, really common when it comes to medical care (in detention facilities), and something I think that’s escalated recently because ICE is having trouble hiring people to provide medical care as well.” ICE did not respond to requests for comment about medical care standards or staffing levels at Farmville. Advocates have been warning of poor conditions at immigration detention facilities across the state. In August 2025, a letter from the Free Them All VA Coalition to Congress warned of “inhumane” conditions at the ICE’s Washington field office in Chantilly. Reports surfaced that the office, which was being used as a makeshift detention space, subjected detainees to an “unsanitary and degrading” environment. Advocates said people were being denied access to food, water and medical care and were sleeping on the floor. Monica Sarmiento, director of the Virginia Coalition for Immigrant Rights, said advocates frequently hear experiences like Juan’s. “Unfortunately, it’s not (uncommon),” Sarmiento said. “Even though the Trump administration has now required giving notice to the detention facility or the holding facility before a visit, they still have found substantial violations that really describe everything that (Juan) said as a consistent pattern in the facilities in our commonwealth.” Juan said his experience at the facility was relatively easier because of his English skills. But most detainees, he said, don’t speak English. To pass the time, he spoke with his wife when he could and attended Bible study twice a day led by a detained pastor. The men would sing worship songs and split one packet of ramen noodles from the commissary four ways. While the facilities provide meals and basic necessities, some detainees choose to purchase higher quality items or to supplement their meals from the commissary. But advocates and families say the prices are high, and the costs can add up quickly. Juan said the toothbrush he was given made his gums bleed, so he purchased one from the commissary. “People spend hundreds and hundreds of dollars buying stuff there,” said Juan. “Everything is so expensive.” Following Juan’s first court hearing since his detention, his attorney filed a habeas petition asking the court to review whether Juan was being lawfully detained. Juan was released two days later. A bond hearing was ordered to be scheduled within seven days. That Friday evening, Juan was processed out. He was handed a different man’s discharge paperwork and medical record. Despite asking for his own documents, Juan said the facility didn’t fix the error and told him to write the name and address of the person coming to pick him up on the other man’s paper. The document, reviewed by The Virginian-Pilot and Daily Press, is from the Farmville Detention Facility and shows a different man’s name, alien number, birth date and medical history. Marie’s name, phone number and home address are handwritten on the section for designating a detainee’s pick-up person. He received his phone, license and money back that were seized during his arrest. Borrowed time Now, Juan always carries his documents showing his granted habeas petition and bond status with him on his phone. He and Marie also printed out copies to put in both of their vehicles. Juan and Marie are now in the process of refiling his asylum case in federal immigration court, which took over jurisdiction of his case following his arrest. Being granted asylum has always been a high bar, said Virginia Beach immigration attorney Andy Reigel, who does not represent Juan. But under the second Trump administration, he said, nearly all asylum applications are being denied. “Right now, it appears that immigration judges have been fired due to decisions they’ve made that the administration did not like,” Reigel said. “So they’re not getting a fair shake in immigration court right now because the immigration judges have been instructed on how to rule on cases.” According to an asylum application tracker database, in 2024, about 28% of asylum applications were granted in Annandale, where Juan’s case is being adjudicated. In 2025, only 13% of asylum applications were granted there. In recent months, that number has dropped into the single digits. According to Marie, they have spent $15,000 on attorneys fees and filing fees to the government and courts since he began the citizenship process in 2019. She said they will now have to spen