Kenneth Genalo, director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s New York City field office, speaks during an interview with The Associated Press in the Bronx borough of New York on Dec. 17, 2024. File photo by Julia Demaree Nikhinson/AP
A Manchester woman arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents was granted a request to be released on bond at a Detroit Immigration Court hearing Tuesday morning.
Davona Williams, 42, was held at the Chittenden Regional Correctional Facility after her arrest on Aug. 25. Williams was transferred to North Lake Processing Center in Baldwin, Michigan, a week later, where she is currently detained. Originally from the island nation of Jamaica, Williams had been living with her three children and partner in Manchester, Vermont. Williams had resided in the U.S. for nearly two decades, and was engaged in a yearslong process to gain legal status.
Detroit Immigration Court Judge Mark J. Jebson ruled that Williams was not a flight risk and posed no danger to the community, according to Williams’ attorney Christopher Worth, a Vermont Law and Graduate School visiting professor who is representing her pro bono through the school’s Center for Justice Reform. At the Tuesday hearing, Jebson awarded the request to release Williams from ICE custody on $7,500 bond, Worth said.
Rutland Area NAACP President Mia Schultz organized a group to show support for Williams by appearing at the virtual hearing, but said they could not join in because the mass attendance bogged down the online systems.
Despite the technical difficulties, Schultz said the show of support proved positive for the outcome of the hearing. The immigration judge noted the number of people attempting to join Tuesday’s hearing as evidence of Williams’ strong community ties before granting the release request, Worth said.
Once Williams returns to Vermont, Worth said the Center for Justice Reform will file a motion to move the case to Chelmsford Immigration Court in Massachusetts and continue seeking legal relief to prevent deportation.
Schultz said the next step is to fundraise through GoFundMe and pool community resources to post bond and pay for Williams’ transportation back to Vermont.
“There’s still things to address, but the biggest hurdle was getting her home to be back with her children,” Schultz said. “She gets to come home.”