Johns Hopkins Researcher Released After ICE Detention At BWI Airport Despite Valid Work Authorization

Dr. Fatima Ameaka

Johns Hopkins Researcher Released After ICE Detention At BWI Airport Despite Valid Work Authorization

A Johns Hopkins University researcher has been released from ICE custody after being detained while attempting to board a domestic flight at Baltimore/Washington International (BWI) Airport, despite her attorney saying she has valid work authorization and a pending asylum case.

Dr. Fatima Ameaka, a public health researcher at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, was taken into custody by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on Thursday. According to her attorney, Ameaka has a pending asylum application and a valid Employment Authorization Document allowing her to work in the U.S. through 2029. The Department of Homeland Security, however, says she remained in the country after her visa expired in June 2024 and was therefore subject to immigration enforcement.

Following her arrest, Ameaka was transported to the Baltimore Convention Center, which is currently being used as a temporary ICE processing site. She spent approximately one day there before being released from custody Friday after attorneys, Johns Hopkins University, and elected officials pushed for her release.

In a statement, Johns Hopkins said it was “deeply concerned” by the detention and confirmed it is providing legal support to Ameaka. Maryland Sen. Chris Van Hollen also questioned the decision to detain a public health researcher with work authorization while her asylum case remains pending.

Although Ameaka has been released, her immigration case is still ongoing. Her attorney maintains that she is lawfully seeking asylum and should be allowed to remain in the United States while that process plays out, while DHS continues to argue that she violated immigration law by overstaying her visa.