Wake County woman detained by Border Patrol returns to immigration court
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Judge's district court ruling allows bond consideration for detainees nationwide.
- Immigration judge cited DOJ policy barring bond for unauthorized entrants.
- Local supporters and officials demand DHS disclose sweep targets and locations.
A Wake County woman arrested by immigration agents last month will remain in a detention center in Georgia despite a federal district judge’s recent ruling that she and others can be considered for release on bail.
Fatima Issela Velasquez-Antonio of Wendell was initially denied bail by federal immigration Judge Jerrica Harness on Nov. 25. Harness cited a recent Trump administration Justice Department policy that effectively prevents her and other immigration judges from setting bail bond amounts for those who entered the United States without legal authorization and have no criminal record.
But later that day, a federal district judge in California struck down the policy, and then expanded it to cover those seeking bail in immigration hearings nationwide. Her decision could open the door for thousands of detained immigrants to be released on bond, The Associated Press reported.
In a brief hearing Tuesday, Harness said the district judge’s decision was not final, and therefore there were “no material changes” in Velasquez-Antonio’s case. That was the reasoning put forward by Douglas W. Jones Jr., an attorney for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
He noted that the department has 45 days from the date of the district judge’s ruling to appeal it.
Andrea Valiente, an attorney representing Velasquez-Antonio, said the California decision should apply until it is appealed.
Velasquez-Antonio, 23, was handcuffed and taken into custody by U.S. Border Patrol agents on Nov. 18 during an immigration sweep that began in Charlotte three days earlier and expanded to the Triangle. She works for an HVAC business and was arrested at a Cary construction site.
She is being held in the Stewart Detention Center in Lumpkin, Georgia. She watched the hearing remotely from a room with several other detainees present. Harness’s court is in another area of the facility.
Velasquez-Antonio looked sad as she sat with her arms folded throughout much of the hearing. She nodded that she understood the judge’s decision. Valiente said she would be appealing it.
Velasquez-Antonio was 14 when she came to the United States from Honduras after her father was killed by a gang member, family members have said. Her mother previously died from cancer. Family in the Triangle raised her and she is seeking asylum. She and her boyfriend recently bought a home in Wendell.
President Donald Trump and Homeland Security officials have said the sweeps are necessary to remove dangerous criminals who are here illegally, but studies have shown a majority of those arrested have no criminal records. North Carolina court records show Velasquez-Antonio had two traffic violations.
Homeland Security officials have yet to provide a list of those taken into custody during the sweep, or disclosed where those people have been taken. They have said more than 370 were arrested in the Charlotte area.
On Saturday, roughly 150 people rallied in downtown Wendell to support Velasquez-Antonio. Among them was U.S. Rep. Deborah Ross, a Raleigh Democrat.
Gov. Josh Stein on Monday posted a link on his Facebook page to The News & Observer’s report of Velasquez-Antonio’s initial bail bond hearing. He challenged the Border Patrol’s sweep.
“Border Patrol says it is targeting violent criminals, but by many reports, more than 70% of those detained have no prior convictions,” Stein said. “Fatima Issela Velasquez-Antonio came to North Carolina as an orphaned child a decade ago and is working in and contributing to her community in Wendell. I continue to call on DHS to provide us answers regarding its operations in our state.
“We all want our communities to be safe, but this isn’t the way to do it,” he said.
Velasquez-Antonio is scheduled to have an initial hearing on her immigration case before Harness on Friday.
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This story was originally published December 2, 2025 at 10:27 AM.