Rhode Island Court Granted Habeas Release for Cambodian Refugee Detained at Check-In
A federal judge in Rhode Island ordered ICE to release Chansareth Hong on August 5, 2026, after he had been held for 14 days at the Wyatt Detention Facility in Central Falls. U.S. District Judge Mary S. McElroy granted Hong’s petition for a writ of habeas corpus, the legal procedure that forces the government to justify why it is holding someone.
Hong, 50, has lived in Providence since his family fled the Khmer Rouge genocide and brought him to the United States in June 1976. He arrived as an infant. He has never lived in Cambodia.
ICE Detained Hong During a Routine Check-In
ICE agents took Hong into custody on July 22, 2026, during a scheduled check-in at the agency’s Warwick, Rhode Island field office. Protesters had gathered at the office that day to block his detention, but were unable to prevent it. Local, state, and federal officials wrote directly to ICE to intervene.
“14 days”
The length of time ICE held Hong before a federal judge ordered his release, Rhode Island Current, August 5, 2026
The government’s case for deportation rests on drug convictions Hong received as a teenager in 1997. Those convictions produced a deportation order in 1999. However, an immigration judge later granted a deferral of removal under the United Nations Convention Against Torture, and in 2002 the Department of Justice’s Board of Immigration Appeals released him under an order of supervision rather than deporting him. That order required regular check-ins with ICE, the same check-ins that led to his July 22 arrest.
His Family Has No Other Caregiver
Hong is the sole caregiver for his 9-year-old autistic son and his elderly mother. His son’s mother died in 2025. His own father died in June 2026. The habeas petition placed both caregiving responsibilities before the court as part of the case for his release.
ICE did not immediately confirm whether Hong had been released following the court order. His attorney did not respond to comment requests from Rhode Island Current by publication time.
The ruling does not permanently resolve Hong’s deportation case. It requires the government to release him while legal proceedings continue. Courts have used habeas corpus petitions to temporarily halt ICE deportations in several other cases since 2025, but outcomes vary by circuit and judge.
What You Can Do Now
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Call your U.S. senators at (202) 224-3121 and ask them to cosponsor the PROTECT Act, which would restore judicial review for long-term residents facing deportation on decades-old convictions. Name Chansareth Hong’s case specifically.
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Contact the Rhode Island congressional delegation directly. Senators Jack Reed and Sheldon Whitehouse have offices that track ICE activity in Rhode Island. Ask them to formally request that ICE suspend removal proceedings against Hong pending the court’s final ruling.
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Track the Wyatt Detention Facility. The Wyatt Detention Center in Central Falls holds federal immigration detainees in Rhode Island. Contact the ACLU of Rhode Island at (401) 831-7171 if you know someone detained there who may have grounds for a habeas petition.
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Contact the Providence Youth Student Movement at PYSMprovidence.org to find out how Hong’s family is asking the public to respond now that the court has acted.
Sources
Rhode Island Current: Judge Orders Release of Providence Man ICE Seeks to Deport to Cambodia
ACLU: Habeas Corpus and Immigration Detention Overview
UN High Commissioner for Refugees: Convention Against Torture Protections for Refugees
Wyatt Detention Facility: Facility Information
[Quote: declined to confirm whether Hong had been released. Jenni Nguyen, Providence Youth Student Movement community organizer.
Rhode Island Current, August 5, 2026]