Dr. Melina Orozco Aislant, a Venezuelan-born veterinarian who has practiced in Jacksonville since 2023, was detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement while on vacation in Arizona. She was arrested by ICE officers on Sept. 23 at Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport, and friends and colleagues back home have been organizing to demand her release ever since.
According to First Coast News, Orozco completed her veterinary training in Venezuela before undertaking additional schooling, examinations and licensing requirements to practice in the United States. In Jacksonville, she built a mobile veterinary practice specializing in acupuncture and traditional Chinese veterinary medicine while also picking up emergency-room shifts, work that colleagues say made her a familiar and trusted presence in the local animal care community.
ICE has said Orozco entered the United States on Feb. 28, 2015, with authorization to remain until Aug. 27, 2015, but did not depart by that date, the station reports. People close to Orozco told the outlet she had a pending asylum application, though First Coast News said it had not independently confirmed that information as of its report.
Attorney Says She Applied for Benefits Through USCIS
Orozco had a first-appearance court proceeding on Oct. 5, according to News4JAX, and she remains in ICE custody pending immigration proceedings. Her attorney told the station, “I am doing everything possible so that all of her rights are protected,” and said Orozco had applied for whatever benefits she was eligible to apply for at the time, adding that U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services had not adjudicated the request in a timely manner.
Friends and colleagues of the Jacksonville veterinarian are demanding her release, and the unlinked community response has translated into a direct fundraising push. A GoFundMe campaign organized and managed by AVVE is collecting donations to help cover her legal fees and potential bail; the same account had raised nearly $20,000 as of Oct. 6, per the station's report, though First Coast News separately put the total at approximately $27,000 as of Oct. 8.
A Pattern Playing Out Beyond Florida
Orozco's case echoes a similar detention earlier this fall involving Monica Ryadi, a 30-year-old Delaware County nurse who was detained by ICE at Los Angeles International Airport on Sept. 15 during a family trip to Disneyland, separating her from her husband and 3-year-old son, according to NBC10 Philadelphia. The Department of Homeland Security said Ryadi had overstayed her authorized period of admission and received a final order of removal from an immigration judge in 2010, while her attorney disputed that characterization and said she was lawfully present in the United States. A judge released Ryadi on Sept. 29 under an alternative-to-detention program requiring GPS monitoring, and she remained in detention for about two weeks before being reunited with her family.
Jacksonville's advocacy community has also been raising broader alarms about ICE detention conditions. The Jacksonville Immigrant Rights Alliance held a candlelight vigil, as reported by Action News Jax, to honor people who died in ICE custody, saying 14 people had already died in custody in 2026 after more than 33 deaths were documented in 2025. Advocates pointed to 287(g) agreements, which allow local law enforcement to function effectively as ICE agents, as a primary driver of those fatalities.
How Bond and Release Typically Work
Federal rules outline a process for anyone in Orozco's position to seek release while their case proceeds. Bond is initially set by the Department of Homeland Security, and a detained person can request a hearing before an immigration judge, who has authority to redetermine the amount, according to the Executive Office for Immigration Review. Once a bond is approved, ICE says it can typically be posted Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., excluding government holidays, in the time zone where the person is held, with release usually following by the end of that day once the Form I-352 bond contract is completed.
For now, Orozco remains in federal immigration custody as her case moves through proceedings, with her attorney continuing to press for her rights to be protected and her Jacksonville colleagues continuing to raise money and awareness on her behalf.
