Family of Detained Glendale Musician Alisa Darbinyan Issues Urgent Plea for Bond Release After ICE Transfers Her Across Four Facilities
GLENDALE, Calif., August 15, 2026 — The loved ones of Alisa Darbinyan, a Glendale-based violin instructor and performing musician, have issued an urgent public appeal demanding her prompt release on bond and a comprehensive federal examination of her case after U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement took her into custody at Los Angeles International Airport and moved her through four different detention centers within a span of just 12 days.
Darbinyan was taken into ICE custody on August 2 while she and her husband, Haik Abovian — a natural-born U.S. citizen — were at the airport preparing to fly to Hawaii. She was first brought to the Adelanto ICE Processing Center in California. On August 12, authorities moved her to Camp East Montana in El Paso, Texas. By August 13, she had been sent onward to a detention center in Dilley, Texas, and on August 14, she was again relocated to the Port Isabel Service Processing Center.
Her family’s last verified conversation with her occurred on August 12. Since that day, neither her husband nor any relative has managed to reach her.
A Clean Record and Pending Asylum Claim
Darbinyan entered the United States through legal means and, as her family attests, filed her asylum petition before her authorized stay expired. She has zero criminal history, no outstanding removal order, and has never skipped a single immigration hearing, government meeting, or reporting requirement. She had no pending appointment with ICE or USCIS at the time of her apprehension.
To date, the family says ICE has failed to produce a judicial warrant, court order, custody finding, Notice to Appear, or any other document identifying the specific statutory foundation for keeping Darbinyan in detention.
ICE Officer Allegedly Cited a Trump Presidential Order
Abovian, who witnessed the entire encounter, recounted that an ICE officer identifying himself as Waseem approached them at LAX with a group of agents and stated that Darbinyan was being detained 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.”
The executive order signed by President Donald Trump on January 20, 2025 directs federal agencies to carry out broad immigration enforcement against inadmissible and removable noncitizens. That same order affirms that detention during immigration proceedings must stay within legal boundaries. The family insists that ICE and the White House explain whether the agent’s account at the airport mirrored actual policy and pinpoint the precise legal authority used in Darbinyan’s situation.
Transfers Effectively Killed the Bond Process
An application for Darbinyan’s release on bond was filed while she remained at Adelanto. However, before the court could render a substantive decision, ICE shipped her over 700 miles away to El Paso.
According to the family, the Adelanto bond proceeding was then either canceled or prevented from going forward because Darbinyan was no longer confined within that court’s geographic jurisdiction. She was transferred again the very next day, and once more the day after.
At no point has an immigration judge denied Darbinyan’s bond on the merits. No judge has determined she is a public safety threat, a flight risk, or a national security concern.
The reported cancellation demands an immediate explanation. EOIR Policy Memorandum 25-49, which was issued specifically to govern transfers during pending bond proceedings, requires that when DHS transfers a detained person beyond the original immigration court’s geographic area, the pending bond request “must remain pending” and should be clerically forwarded to the proper 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.”
Allegations of Sleep Deprivation and Isolation
Prior to losing contact, Darbinyan told her family about enduring sleep deprivation, extreme temperature conditions, and serious obstacles to communicating with her loved ones. She also reported difficulty obtaining regular access to the deportation officer assigned to her case.
The family says that an Adelanto deportation officer identified as Officer Garcia never actually met with Darbinyan while she was held there. Information provided to the family at the facility indicated the officer had reportedly been away from work for approximately 12 days. No substitute officer took meaningful action on Darbinyan’s custody or transfer status before she was dispatched to Texas, the family reports.
They are now seeking a formal investigation into these circumstances along with immediate confirmation of Darbinyan’s current physical and psychological state.
Her August 12 transfer to Camp East Montana also came less than a month after Human Rights Watch and the American Civil Liberties Union released a significant report documenting serious barriers to family contact, confidential legal access, and sufficient medical care at the Fort Bliss detention site. That report further cataloged repeated transfers that disrupted legal representation and court proceedings. Although those broader findings do not prove what specifically happened to Darbinyan during her brief time there, they dramatically increase the need to establish what occurred and whether she had genuine access to legal counsel and family communication.
The family notes Darbinyan had also been receiving medical treatment before her detention due to an accident. Her husband has not been able to verify whether that treatment continued, whether her health has worsened, or whether her medical records accompanied her through the string of transfers.
A Teacher’s Plea from Behind Bars
In the last exchanges with her family, Darbinyan spoke often about her husband and the young people she teaches.
Through a statement relayed by her relatives, 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 career violinist and music educator whose students are currently rehearsing for a November 1 classical concert at the Alex Theatre in Glendale. Her family and employer say she bears responsibility for the musical education of over 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.”
According to her published professional biography, Darbinyan took up the violin at age six at Sayat-Nova Music School and subsequently graduated from the Komitas State Conservatory of Yerevan. She co-founded the Liberta ensemble in 2012, performed across more than 20 cities in eight U.S. states, and has taught at numerous Southern California music schools. Her performance credits include collaborations with internationally acclaimed artists such as Richard Clayderman, Homayoun Shajarian, and the Siavash Orchestra.
What the Family Is Demanding
Darbinyan’s family is directing the following demands at ICE leadership, the Department of Homeland Security, the Executive Office for Immigration Review, congressional representatives, and the Trump administration:
- 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.”
Chronology of Detention and Transfers
- 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.
Call to Action
The family is reaching out to musicians, educators, parents, human-rights groups, elected officials, members of the Armenian-American community, and all concerned citizens to join the call for Darbinyan’s immediate bond release and a halt to any additional 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
