FAMILY SAYS ICE AGENT INVOKED TRUMP ORDER BEFORE DETAINING GLENDALE VIOLINIST; FOUR FACILITIES IN 12 DAYS HAVE DISRUPTED HER BOND CASE
Professional violinist with a pending asylum case, a U.S.-citizen husband and no criminal history has been unreachable since August 12; family demands immediate release on bond, review of her detention and return to California
GLENDALE, Calif., August 15, 2026 — The family of Alisa Darbinyan, a Glendale violin teacher and professional violinist, is demanding her immediate release on reasonable bond and an urgent federal review after U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detained her at Los Angeles International Airport and transported her through four detention facilities in 12 days.
Alisa was detained on August 2 while preparing to travel from Los Angeles to Hawaii with her husband, Haik Abovian, a United States citizen by birth. She was first taken to the Adelanto ICE Processing Center in California. On August 12, she was transferred to Camp East Montana in El Paso, Texas. On August 13, she was transported to a facility in Dilley, Texas. On August 14, she was moved again to the Port Isabel Service Processing Center.
The last confirmed conversation between Alisa and her family occurred on August 12. Her husband and family have not been able to speak with her since.
Alisa entered the United States legally and, according to the family, submitted her asylum application before her authorized period of stay expired. She has a pending asylum case, no criminal history, no order of removal and no record of missing an immigration hearing, government appointment or reporting obligation. Before her detention, she had not been scheduled for an appointment with ICE or U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.
The family says ICE has not provided them with a judicial warrant, court order, custody determination, Notice to Appear or other documentation identifying the precise statutory basis for Alisa’s continued detention.
ICE agent allegedly cited a presidential order from Trump
According to Haik’s eyewitness account, an ICE agent who identified himself as Waseem approached the couple at LAX with a team of officers and said Alisa was being taken into custody because she was considered 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 directs federal agencies to broadly enforce immigration laws against inadmissible and removable noncitizens. The same order states that detention pending immigration proceedings must remain within what the law permits. The family is demanding that ICE and the White House explain whether the agent’s description at LAX accurately reflected official policy and identify the specific legal authority relied upon in Alisa’s case.
Repeated ICE transfers have disrupted bond review
A request for Alisa’s release on bond was filed while she was detained in Adelanto. Before the court could decide that request on its merits, ICE transferred her more than 700 miles away to El Paso.
The family says the Adelanto bond matter was then canceled or prevented from proceeding because Alisa was no longer detained within that court’s geographic jurisdiction. ICE moved her again the following day and then again one day later.
No immigration judge has denied Alisa bond on the merits. No judge has found that she is a danger to the public, a flight risk or a national-security threat.
The reported cancellation requires an immediate explanation. EOIR Policy Memorandum 25-49, issued specifically to address transfers during pending bond proceedings, states that when DHS transfers a detained person outside the original immigration court’s geographic area, 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.”
Family reports isolation, sleep deprivation and extreme conditions
Before communication was lost, Alisa reported sleep deprivation, exposure to extreme temperatures and serious difficulty communicating with her family. She also reported that she was unable to obtain consistent access to the deportation officer assigned to her case.
The family says an assigned Adelanto deportation officer, identified to them as Officer Garcia, never met with Alisa during her detention there. According to information provided to the family at the facility, the officer had reportedly been absent from work for approximately 12 days. The family says no replacement officer meaningfully addressed Alisa’s custody or transfer situation before she was sent to Texas.
The family is requesting an investigation into those circumstances and immediate confirmation of Alisa’s physical and mental condition.
Alisa’s August 12 transfer to Camp East Montana also occurred less than one month after Human Rights Watch and the American Civil Liberties Union published a major report alleging serious barriers to family communication, confidential legal access and adequate medical care at the Fort Bliss detention site. The report separately documented repeated transfers that disrupted legal representation and court proceedings. Those broader findings do not establish what personally happened to Alisa during her brief detention there, but they substantially increase the urgency of determining what occurred and whether she had meaningful access to counsel and communication.
The family says Alisa had also been receiving medical treatment before her detention following an accident. Her husband has been unable to confirm whether treatment has continued, whether her condition has worsened or whether her records followed her through the repeated transfers.
“I keep thinking about my students”
During her last conversations with her family, Alisa spoke repeatedly about her husband and the children she teaches.
In a statement relayed through her family, Alisa 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.”
Alisa 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 say 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.”
Alisa’s published professional biography states 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
Alisa’s family is calling upon ICE leadership, the Department of Homeland Security, the Executive Office for Immigration Review, members of Congress and the Trump administration to take the following actions immediately:
- 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 Alisa’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 Alisa’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