Glendale Violinist Held by ICE After Airport Arrest; Moved Through Four Facilities in 12 Days
GLENDALE, Calif., August 15, 2026 — Relatives of Alisa Darbinyan, a professional violinist and music instructor based in Glendale, are calling for her immediate release on bond and a thorough federal investigation after Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents seized her at Los Angeles International Airport and subsequently shuffled her among four separate detention centers over the course of 12 days.
Darbinyan was apprehended on August 2 as she prepared to board a domestic flight to Hawaii alongside her husband, Haik Abovian, who is a United States citizen by birth. Officers initially transported her to the Adelanto ICE Processing Center in California. On August 12, she was relocated to Camp East Montana in El Paso, Texas. The following day, she was sent to a facility in Dilley, Texas, and on August 14, she was transferred yet again to the Port Isabel Service Processing Center.
The most recent confirmed contact between Darbinyan and her relatives took place on August 12. Her husband and extended family have been unable to communicate with her since that date.
Legal Status and Background
Darbinyan arrived in the United States through lawful channels and, according to her family, submitted her application for asylum before her authorized period of stay ran out. She carries no criminal record, has received no removal order, and has never failed to appear at an immigration hearing or government-mandated appointment. Prior to her arrest, she had not been summoned to report to ICE or U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.
Her family states that ICE has yet to furnish them with a judicial warrant, court order, custody determination, Notice to Appear, or any other paperwork specifying the exact legal grounds for her ongoing detention.
Agent Reportedly Referenced Presidential Directive
According to the eyewitness testimony of Abovian, an ICE officer who gave his name as Waseem approached the couple at the airport with a team of agents and informed them that Darbinyan was being placed in custody because she was deemed out of status.
“I asked the agent directly whether he had an order from a judge,” Haik said. “He told me no. He said they had a presidential order from Trump to detain people who were out of status, regardless of whether they were criminals, had pending asylum cases or had any other circumstances. Then they took my wife away.”
Haik continued:
“Alisa entered this country legally. She applied for asylum, she has never committed a crime, and she has never missed an appointment. She was traveling domestically with her husband. Since August 12, I have not heard her voice. I do not know whether she is safe, whether she has slept, whether she is receiving proper care or whether she can reach her attorney.”
President Donald Trump’s January 20, 2025 executive order instructs federal agencies to broadly enforce immigration statutes against inadmissible and removable noncitizens. That same directive specifies that detention during immigration proceedings must remain within statutory limits. The family is demanding that ICE and the White House clarify whether the agent’s statements at the airport accurately reflected official policy and identify the particular legal authority invoked in Darbinyan’s case.
Successive Transfers Derailed Bond Proceedings
A petition for Darbinyan’s release on bond was submitted during her time at Adelanto. Before the court had the opportunity to rule on that petition, ICE relocated her more than 700 miles to El Paso.
The family reports that the Adelanto bond matter was subsequently canceled or blocked from moving forward because Darbinyan was no longer held within that court’s jurisdictional boundaries. ICE then moved her again the next day and once more the day after that.
No immigration judge has rejected Darbinyan’s bond petition on its merits. No judge has concluded that she poses a danger to the public, represents a flight risk, or constitutes a national security threat.
The reported cancellation warrants an immediate accounting. EOIR Policy Memorandum 25-49, drafted specifically to address transfers during active bond proceedings, stipulates that when DHS moves a detained individual outside the original immigration court’s geographic coverage, the pending bond request “must remain pending” and should be clerically transferred to the appropriate court.
“This is not a request for special treatment. It is a demand for basic due process,” said Artur Hakobyan, the family’s spokesperson.
“ICE detained a violin teacher with no criminal record, moved her from California to three different facilities in Texas in three consecutive days, and left her bond case chasing her across jurisdictions. A pending bond request should not disappear every time ICE puts someone on another plane or bus.”
Hakobyan continued:
“An ICE agent invoked President Trump’s name when Alisa was taken at LAX. President Trump and his administration should now review what is being done in his name. Release Alisa on bond, return her to California and stop moving her before a court can fairly hear her case.”
Reports of Harsh Conditions and Communication Breakdown
Before all contact was severed, Darbinyan described experiencing sleep deprivation, exposure to extreme temperatures, and significant difficulty reaching her family. She also indicated she had been unable to secure consistent access to the deportation officer handling her case.
The family says an Adelanto deportation officer identified as Officer Garcia never met with Darbinyan during her confinement there. According to information the family received at the facility, the officer had reportedly been absent from work for roughly 12 days. No replacement officer meaningfully addressed her custody or transfer circumstances before she was sent to Texas, the family states.
The family is requesting an inquiry into those conditions and immediate verification of Darbinyan’s physical and mental well-being.
Darbinyan’s August 12 transfer to Camp East Montana also took place less than one month after Human Rights Watch and the American Civil Liberties Union published a major report alleging substantial obstacles to family communication, confidential attorney access, and adequate medical care at the Fort Bliss detention site. That report separately documented repeated transfers that interrupted legal representation and court proceedings. While those broader findings do not establish what personally happened to Darbinyan during her brief stay there, they significantly heighten the urgency of determining what took place and whether she had meaningful access to counsel and communication.
The family adds that Darbinyan had been undergoing medical treatment prior to her detention following an accident. Her husband has been unable to confirm whether that treatment has continued, whether her condition has deteriorated, or whether her medical records followed her through the successive transfers.
“I Keep Thinking About My Students”
During her final conversations with relatives, Darbinyan spoke repeatedly about her husband and the children she instructs.
In a statement conveyed through her family, Darbinyan said:
“I keep thinking about my students and what they are going to do without me. I am separated from my husband, and now I cannot reach my family. I am asking the public and the government to look carefully at my case and see what ICE has done. I believe this was an illegal detention for no reason. I have never committed a crime, and I am asking for the chance to return to my husband, my students and my life while my immigration case continues.”
Darbinyan is a professional violinist and educator whose students are preparing for a November 1 classical concert at the Alex Theatre in Glendale. Her family and employer confirm she is responsible for the musical education of more than 95 children.
“I visited Alisa while she was detained in Adelanto,” said Sona Vardanyan, owner of Sonata Music School.
“She was exhausted, frightened and deeply worried about her students. Alisa is not a danger to anyone. She is a dedicated teacher whose students and their families depend on her. They keep asking where she is and when she is coming back. Every transfer takes her farther from her husband, her students and the community that is ready to support her.”
Vardanyan added:
“Alisa teaches children much more than violin. She gives them discipline, confidence, responsibility and stability. Her continued detention is not affecting only one person. It is hurting an entire community of children and families.”
Darbinyan’s published professional biography notes that she began studying violin at age six at Sayat-Nova Music School and later graduated from the Komitas State Conservatory of Yerevan. She co-founded the Liberta ensemble in 2012, toured more than 20 cities in eight U.S. states, and has taught at multiple Southern California music schools. Her performance history includes appearances alongside internationally recognized musicians, including Richard Clayderman, Homayoun Shajarian, and the Siavash Orchestra.
The Family’s Immediate Demands
Darbinyan’s family is urging ICE leadership, the Department of Homeland Security, the Executive Office for Immigration Review, members of Congress, and the Trump administration to take the following steps without delay:
- Release Alisa Darbinyan on reasonable bond while her pending immigration case proceeds.
- Conduct an urgent review of her arrest, continued detention, and repeated transfers, including the legal authority relied upon at LAX and the effect of those transfers on her bond proceedings.
- Return Alisa to California and suspend any further transfers while her bond request and detention review are pending.
- Preserve and transfer her original bond request rather than requiring the process to begin again each time ICE changes her location.
- Provide immediate, reliable, and confidential communication with her husband and attorneys, together with written confirmation of her current physical condition.
- Provide Alisa and her legal representatives with all arrest, custody, charging, and transfer documents, including any administrative warrant, custody determination, Notice to Appear, and transfer records.
“This family is not asking the government to decide Alisa’s entire immigration case through a press release,” Hakobyan said. “We are asking the government to stop moving her, let a judge review the facts and release her on bond. Alisa has a husband, attorneys, employers, students and an entire community prepared to ensure that she attends every proceeding.”
Detention and Transfer Timeline
- August 2, 2026: ICE detains Alisa at LAX while she is preparing to travel to Hawaii with her U.S.-citizen husband. She is transported to the Adelanto ICE Processing Center.
- August 2-12: Alisa remains detained in Adelanto. A bond request is filed. The family says she never receives a bond decision on the merits and is unable to consistently meet with an assigned deportation officer.
- August 12: ICE transfers Alisa from Adelanto to Camp East Montana in El Paso, Texas. This is the last date on which her husband or family has confirmed communication with her.
- August 13: ICE transfers Alisa to a detention facility in Dilley, Texas.
- August 14: ICE transfers Alisa to the Port Isabel Service Processing Center.
- August 15: Her husband and family remain unable to speak with her. No bond hearing has been completed, and no judge has denied release on the merits.
Public Appeal
The family is asking musicians, teachers, parents, human-rights organizations, elected officials, members of the Armenian-American community, and concerned members of the public to call for Darbinyan’s immediate release on bond and an end to further transfers.
The official public campaign hashtag is: #FreeAlisa
High-resolution photographs, professional performance materials, employment verification, family and community declarations, the detention transfer timeline, and interviews with Darbinyan’s husband, employer, and family spokesperson are available to verified journalists upon request.
Media Contact
Artur Hakobyan
Family Spokesperson
Text Message only: 747-221-7332
artur@thenotar.com
