When Yeferson Gonzalez Contreras came to the United States from Venezuela, he says he followed the process exactly as he was told.

He made an appointment through the federal CBP One app — a program created near the end of the Biden administration to manage asylum appointments at the border. That appointment system was later discontinued after President Donald Trump took office.

Gonzalez Contreras presented himself at the southern border in October 2024. After he was inspected, he was allowed into the country and told to appear in immigration court at a later date, according to a court filing submitted on his behalf while he was still detained.

Within the required time, he says he applied for asylum.

For months, Gonzalez Contreras says he built a quiet life in Minnesota. He received permission to work, was issued a Social Security number and was waiting for his immigration case to move forward.

Then, at a hearing last September, things took an unexpected turn.

Speaking through a translator in an interview with MPR News, Gonzalez Contreras said he showed up to court alone, expecting a routine appearance.

“I thought it was a normal hearing,” he said.

Instead, government attorneys asked the judge to dismiss his case. Gonzalez Contreras objected, saying he still wanted the chance to present his asylum claim. The judge agreed to dismiss it anyway, according to the court petition filed during his detention.

As he walked out of the courtroom, still trying to process what had happened, he said five men in plain clothes approached him.

“They called me by my name and told me they were there to help me with my case,” he said through a translator.

Instead, he says they took him to another area, handcuffed him, and took his belongings. He soon realized they were Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents.

By that evening, he had been taken to the Sherburne County Jail in Elk River, which houses people in immigration custody under a contract with ICE.

Five months behind bars

Gonzalez Contreras spent about five months there.

A court petition filed while he was still locked up said he had followed the rules after entering the country, had no criminal history and had already applied for asylum.

His attorneys argued that he should not have been detained and asked a federal judge to review his case.

His lawyer, Gloria Contreras Edin, filed legal challenges while he remained in custody, arguing that he should be released.

During the court fight, an immigration judge indicated that if given the authority to do so, he would likely set bond at $5,000 so Gonzalez Contreras could be released while his case continued. 

Eventually, a federal judge ruled that his detention was unlawful, and he was released.

While at Sherburne, Gonzalez Contreras says he was sometimes housed alongside people serving criminal sentences. He says the experience left him shaken.

Released, but not back to normal

When he was first released, he says some of his documents — including his identification and work permit — were not immediately returned to him.

For a couple of weeks, he says he felt stuck. Without identification, he was afraid to move around freely. Without his work permit in hand, he couldn’t return to work.

Contreras Edin says she has seen similar situations in other cases, where people are released from immigration detention without all of their property or paperwork. In some instances, people have been released in other states without phones, money or identification.

“One hundred percent of my clients sent to Texas, when they were released, did not have or were not given back their identity documents,” she said. “They weren't given back their employment authorization documents unless a federal district court judge ordered it.” 

A class action suit filed on behalf of people detained by ICE includes accounts of people left to fend for themselves on Texas streets without their phones, without money and without ID. 

A judge’s order in the lawsuit includes a description of one man’s ordeal: “After being taken to a detention center in Minnesota, he was immediately flown to Texas, where he was interrogated about his refugee status. He was kept in ‘shackles and handcuffs’ for 16 hours. D. Doe was ultimately released on the streets of Texas, left to find his way back to Minnesota.”

In other cases, judges have ordered DHS to make sure the people they release are brought back to Minnesota with the items they had on them when they were detained.

In Gonzalez Contreras’ case, ICE eventually returned his documents after he requested them. But he says the weeks without them added to the uncertainty he was already feeling. 

Still waiting for resolution

Gonzalez Contreras’ immigration case is not over.

The court filing submitted while he was detained says he appealed the dismissal of his case and asked for another opportunity to pursue asylum.

The petition also describes him as someone who fled Venezuela after opposing the government there.

For now, he says he is taking things one day at a time.

He says the experience changed him deeply.

“I feel like I’ve been born again,” he said.

Gonzalez Contreras says he is telling his story for others who may be sitting in detention right now, confused about what is happening to them.

His message is don’t lose hope and keep fighting.

Even with his documents back in hand, much about his future remains uncertain.

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