Speaking out about Gaza should not land anyone in a detention cell. Yet Ya’akub Vijandre, an aviation safety worker and first responder from Arlington, Texas, has been held by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) for about a year. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) pointed to his protests, interviews and social media posts as signs that he supported terrorism. DHS should release him and stop treating protected speech as a crime.

Vijandre is also a photojournalist who has spent years covering rallies for Palestinian rights and civil liberties. After the war in Gaza began, he joined protests, interviewed organizers and shared his views online. In October 2025, armed agents arrested him outside his home. ICE later moved him to a facility in Folkston, Georgia, far from his family. His Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) status, which he had held since 2012, was terminated.

According to his op-ed in USA TODAY, Vijandre says the case against him began after he turned down a 2023 request from a joint terrorism task force to become an informant.

The courts have pushed back on this kind of crackdown. In August, a federal judge ruled that the government cannot use immigration law to punish noncitizens for speech protected by the First and Fifth Amendments. A magistrate judge in Georgia has allowed his challenge to his detention to move forward, and 23 members of Congress have called for his release.

Free speech protects views people agree with and views they don’t. Jailing someone over posts and protests sets a dangerous precedent for everyone.

Sign the petition to tell DHS and ICE to release Ya’akub Vijandre and protect the right to speak out.