Woman arrested by ICE at DIA released from Colorado immigration detention

Elizabeth Hernandez, The Denver Post on Jul 30, 2026

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The Ecuadorian woman whose arrest by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents at Denver International Airport last week went viral was released from federal custody Thursday afternoon, according to her lawyer.

Chantal Alejandra Morales Rojas was released on a $3,000 bond and will return home to Oakland with her family and friends while her immigration proceedings and federal habeas corpus petition continue through the courts, attorney Laura Lichter said.

“We’re obviously relieved that Chantal is finally going home today,” Lichter said in a statement. “But her release doesn’t answer the central question in this case. ICE still has not produced the records explaining why they arrested her or why they believed detention was justified. We will continue this fight because the public deserves to know whether the government followed the law before taking away someone’s liberty.”

ICE agents arrested Morales Rojas last week while she was attempting to board a Southwest Airlines flight back to Oakland after traveling with loved ones to Denver.

Video of the arrest filmed by Morales Rojas’ friend Alicia Dantzker showed the 27-year-old Ecuadorian woman whisked off the jetway and taken to the tarmac while passengers shouted for help. Days later, the New York Times cited Morales Rojas’ detention in a report on the Trump administration’s surge in immigration arrests at U.S. airports.

ICE previously said Morales Rojas was detained because she overstayed her visa. The federal agency said she entered the U.S. on Oct. 20, 2024, and had been allowed to remain in the country until Jan. 4, 2025.

According to her attorneys, Morales Rojas entered the U.S. lawfully in January 2023 as a J-1 exchange visitor — a legal status allowing her to work as an au pair. She re-entered on a visa in 2024, according to her attorneys.

Before the end of the exchange program, Morales Rojas’ attorneys said she filed an application with U.S. immigration authorities allowing her to remain in the country while her case was under review. The application does not provide formal immigration status while she waits, the law firm said.

Last week, Lichter filed a petition of habeas corpus, challenging Morales Rojas’ arrest and confinement at the ICE immigration detention facility in Aurora.

“A person shouldn’t have to spend days in detention without the government having to explain why they arrested her,” Lichter said. “We’re pleased Chantal is being released, but we will continue pursuing this case until the government produces the records and answers the questions it has so far refused to answer. Transparency and accountability are essential when the government exercises the extraordinary power to deprive someone of their liberty.”

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