A traffic stop near Albertville, Alabama has kept an 18-year-old locked up in a Louisiana immigration detention center for more than 200 days, even though federal officials had already approved him for humanitarian protection as a minor. Elder Chavez Carranza, who came to the United States from Copan, Honduras at age 14, was stopped by a police officer while going to buy food, according to his account of events.
As reported by ABC7 Chicago, the officer asked Chavez Carranza for identification and immigration papers, and Chavez Carranza said the officer then contacted immigration authorities. He told the outlet that ICE took him away before he had the chance to show his papers. Alabama state troopers had stopped him on December 30, 2025, in Albertville for traveling 15 mph over the speed limit without a driver's license, according to 1819 News, which reported he was a 17-year-old junior at Asbury High School at the time. He has now spent the past nine months detained at Winn Correctional Center in Louisiana, separated from his family, friends and school, per the ABC7 Chicago account.
Approved Status, but Still Detained
Chavez Carranza was granted special immigrant juvenile classification as a minor — a designation Congress created to provide humanitarian protection for children who have been abused, abandoned or neglected. His immigration attorney, Dalaney Mecham, said USCIS approved his SIJ classification, but his deferred-action application remains unresolved; deferred action could allow him to remain in the country while pursuing the next steps in his case, the station's report notes.
Eligible SIJ youth under 21 are supposed to have a pathway toward a green card, according to immigration lawyers cited in the same account. Immigration authorities have historically exercised prosecutorial discretion to avoid arresting or deporting people with pending or approved SIJS applications. That changed on May 10, 2026, when U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services formally ended its automatic deferred-action policy for SIJ classification holders, according to USCIS, eliminating protection that had been in place since 2022.
The Department of Homeland Security said Chavez Carranza will remain in ICE custody pending his immigration proceedings and that he will receive full due process, per the same account. He is one of thousands of people now in prolonged detention after being picked up by federal immigration authorities, the report adds.
A Nationwide Backlog Behind Bars
Chavez Carranza's case is not isolated. More than 150,000 young immigrants with approved SIJ status remain stuck in multi-year green card visa backlogs, and federal authorities have detained at least 265 SIJ-approved youth nationwide since ending automatic deferred-action protections, according to The Young Center. A November 2025 Board of Immigration Appeals precedent decision, *Matter of Miguel Angel Otoniel Cahuec Tzalam*, further restricted immigration judges from administratively closing removal cases for SIJ youth if visa availability is years away, as detailed by MyAttorney USA.
ProPublica reported in July 2026 that immigration courts issued more than 10,000 removal and voluntary departure orders per month for immigrant minors that year — nearly four times the monthly rate of previous years. Advocates argue that revoking deferred action undermines Congress's intent to protect vulnerable youth, while federal agencies maintain the detentions adhere strictly to statutory due process.
Family and Friends Keep Watch From Afar
Chavez Carranza's sister and legal guardian, Maryuri Chavez Carranza, calls him every day, according to ABC7 Chicago. Angela del Valle became involved in his case after her husband, Carlos, was also detained at Winn Correctional Center; she now helps the family navigate the detention process. Inside the facility, Chavez Carranza works unloading trucks and said other detainees look out for him, even as he described detention as very difficult and said he seeks strength to endure each day.
Support has extended well beyond his family. Multi-state faith leaders and advocacy networks organized church vigils across Alabama, Pennsylvania and Louisiana, alongside an online campaign that raised nearly $8,000 to push for his release so he could return to Asbury High School, per 1819 News. Local pastors and advocates reportedly formed a group called Team Elder to keep public pressure on federal officials.
Deaths and Scrutiny at the Louisiana Facility
Advocates and lawmakers have raised concerns about conditions at Winn Correctional Center, and the timing adds weight to those worries. Two detainees died at the facility in less than two months this September, and the Department of Homeland Security said the deaths are under investigation while defending its treatment of detainees in detention centers overall, according to the ABC7 Chicago report.
One of those deaths involved 36-year-old Costa Rican detainee Carlos Josué Marchena Marchena, who died on September 18 after his family said he suffered from untreated type 1 diabetes and missed required insulin shots and meals, according to Local 10 News. He was the third detainee to die at Winn Correctional Center in less than six months. Two others died earlier in the year: 49-year-old Alejandro Cabrera Clemente of Mexico on April 11, and 43-year-old Mamuka Artmeladze of Georgia on June 4, according to immigration researcher Austin Kocher.
A June 2026 unannounced inspection by the DHS Office of Inspector General found that Winn Correctional Center failed federal standards for medical care, recordkeeping and sanitation, and documented staff chokeholds along with an officer stabbing a detainee's hand with a pen, as reported by Wonderwall. DHS officials publicly characterized some of the findings as minor infractions and said ICE would retrain staff. The facility, owned by the Winn Parish Sheriff's Office and operated by private contractor LaSalle Corrections, holds over 1,500 male detainees at its contractual maximum capacity, according to The Bayou Progressive.
The pattern extends beyond Louisiana. Hoodline previously reported on a Kansas father's ICE removal that touched on the same facility's troubled record, and on a Newark teen with similar SIJ status who spent 53 days in detention before his case moved forward. For now, Chavez Carranza's family and supporters continue to wait, hoping his approved status and mounting public pressure will eventually bring him home to Albertville.
