NEW ORLEANS – After months of unlawful detention following a federal court order granting her bond, Larysa Kostak has been released from the Richwood Correctional Center in Monroe, Louisiana. However, her freedom remains at risk as the government continues to challenge the ruling that vindicated her constitutional rights. It’s a case with sweeping implications for thousands of immigrants who end up detained in Louisiana’s sprawling detention system.
Kostak, a 50-year-old Ukrainian woman, has been living in Brooklyn, New York for nearly two decades after fleeing Ukraine for political reasons in 2005. She became a pillar of her neighborhood and a beloved community member. On June 26, 2025, she attended a routine court appointment for her asylum case and was abruptly seized and arrested by federal authorities without warning. She was then transported more than 1,000 miles away from her home and husband to Monroe, Louisiana.
Kostak is one of millions of immigrants actively targeted by the current administration’s sweeping initiative to incarcerate as many immigrants as possible, regardless of whether they have a criminal background. Her petition became one of the first to establish that immigrants who have spent decades in this country are entitled to make their case for release. When Kostak did so, an immigration court granted her a federal-court-ordered bond hearing. It concluded that she was not a danger or a flight risk and therefore should be released from immigration detention.
Despite this clear judicial ruling, the government blatantly ignored the court’s decision and kept Kostak locked away. She has been released, but the threat of re-arrest and incarceration remains.
Her fear of re-arrest is palpable because the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) is being asked to vacate her bond so she can be put behind bars once again. Her case illustrates this administration’s desire to subject all immigrants to mandatory detention, and render them ineligible for bond, no matter how long they have lived, worked, and paid taxes in this country, and regardless of whether they have ever committed a single crime.
“Larysa never should have been detained in the first place,” said Nora Ahmed, legal director for the ACLU of Louisiana. “And she shouldn’t have had to go to court for a bond hearing to which she was entitled. She’s now stuck in a limbo of fear and confusion as she could be re-arrested all over again because of the administration’s attempt to overrule the Constitution by virtue of its control over the administrative agency that reports to it: the BIA. ”
“ICE officers detained Larysa at her court hearing without notice or warning, then subjected her to unnecessary and unlawful detention over a thousand miles from her home,” said Sarah Gillman, Director of Strategic U.S. Litigation at RFK Human Rights. “Even though she’s now been released, she remains in legal limbo and is fearful of being re-detained for no other reason than the Trump administration thinks they can. Her story is emblematic of the Trump administration’s blatant attempts to bypass Constitutional rights and expand mandatory immigration detention – no matter the circumstances and no matter the cost.”
Others have already been subjected to prolonged lockup with no end in sight. Carlos Raul Ventura Martinez, another ACLU of Louisiana client, lived in Maryland for 12 years and is now detained. He has a wife and three children there and has no criminal record.
Like Kostak, Mr. Ventura Martinez, was arrested in Maryland and detained in Louisiana. He too was granted bond by an immigration judge, only to see the BIA vacate his bond determination based on sham precedent that violates constitutional law. Kostak is terrified the same fate is likely to befall her and will lead to her re-arrest.
About the ACLU of Louisiana:
The ACLU of Louisiana leads the charge to protect the civil rights and liberties of Louisianians, especially those most marginalized and historically harmed. True to our founding during the Civil Rights Movement, we are fearless in the face of intimidation and fight tirelessly to protect and empower Louisiana’s Black, Brown, Immigrant, and LGBTQ+ communities. We are part of a nationwide network of affiliates working in courts, legislatures, and communities in all 50 states, Puerto Rico, and Washington, D.C.
About Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights:
We are a nonpartisan, not-for-profit organization that has worked to realize Robert F. Kennedy’s dream of a more just and peaceful world since 1968. In partnership with local activists, we advocate for key human rights issues—championing change makers and pursuing strategic litigation at home and around the world. And to ensure change that lasts, we foster a social-good approach to business and investment and educate students about human rights and social justice.
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