Small Business Owner Speaks Out After ICE Detains Key Employee at Airport; Glendale Music School Faces Disruption
GLENDALE, Calif., August 15, 2026 — Sona Vardanyan runs Sonata Music School in Glendale. For years, one of the pillars of her business has been Alisa Darbinyan, a professional violinist responsible for the musical education of more than 95 young students. On August 2, ICE agents detained Darbinyan at Los Angeles International Airport as she prepared to fly to Hawaii with her husband, a U.S. citizen. In the 13 days since, Darbinyan has been moved through four different detention facilities, her family has lost all contact with her, and Vardanyan’s school has been left without its most critical instructor.
“Alisa is not a danger to anyone. She is a dedicated teacher whose students and their families depend on her,” Vardanyan said after visiting Darbinyan at the Adelanto ICE Processing Center. “They keep asking where she is and when she is coming back. Every transfer takes her farther from her husband, her students and the community that is ready to support her.”
Darbinyan’s family is now publicly demanding her immediate release on bond, a full review of the legal grounds for her arrest, and an end to inter-facility transfers they say have effectively blocked any court from hearing her case.
Detained at the Gate
Darbinyan and her husband, Haik Abovian — a natural-born U.S. citizen — were at LAX preparing to board a domestic flight when an ICE officer who identified himself as Waseem approached with a team of agents. The officer said Darbinyan was being placed in custody because she was deemed out of status.
“I asked the agent directly whether he had an order from a judge,” Haik said. “He told me no. He said they had a presidential order from Trump to detain people who were out of status, regardless of whether they were criminals, had pending asylum cases or had any other circumstances. Then they took my wife away.”
Haik continued:
“Alisa entered this country legally. She applied for asylum, she has never committed a crime, and she has never missed an appointment. She was traveling domestically with her husband. Since August 12, I have not heard her voice. I do not know whether she is safe, whether she has slept, whether she is receiving proper care or whether she can reach her attorney.”
President Trump’s January 20, 2025 executive order instructed federal agencies to broadly enforce immigration laws against individuals considered inadmissible or removable. That same order affirms that detention during immigration proceedings must remain within statutory limits. The family is calling on ICE and the White House to clarify whether the agent’s account at LAX corresponded to actual policy and to identify the specific legal authority used to justify Darbinyan’s arrest.
Legal History: Clean Record, Pending Asylum, No Missed Hearings
Darbinyan came to the United States through lawful channels and, according to her family, submitted her asylum application before her authorized stay expired. She has absolutely no criminal record, has received no removal order, and has never failed to appear at an immigration hearing or government-mandated check-in. She was not scheduled for any meeting with ICE or USCIS at the time of her arrest.
Her family says ICE has yet to produce a judicial warrant, court order, custody determination, Notice to Appear, or any other document specifying the statutory basis for keeping her detained.
Transfer After Transfer Killed the Bond Case
Upon being taken to the Adelanto ICE Processing Center on August 2, Darbinyan’s attorneys filed for her release on bond. Before the immigration court could reach a decision on the merits, ICE shipped her more than 700 miles to Camp East Montana in El Paso, Texas on August 12.
The family says the bond proceeding at Adelanto was subsequently canceled or blocked because Darbinyan was no longer housed within that court’s geographic jurisdiction. On August 13, she was relocated to Dilley, Texas. On August 14, she was transferred to the Port Isabel Service Processing Center.
No immigration judge has denied her bond request on the merits. No judge has found her to be a public safety threat, flight risk, or national security concern.
The family notes that EOIR Policy Memorandum 25-49 was issued to address precisely this type of situation. The memorandum stipulates that when DHS moves a detainee beyond the original court’s geographic area, the pending bond request “must remain pending” and should be clerically forwarded to the appropriate court.
“This is not a request for special treatment. It is a demand for basic due process,” said Artur Hakobyan, the family’s spokesperson.
“ICE detained a violin teacher with no criminal record, moved her from California to three different facilities in Texas in three consecutive days, and left her bond case chasing her across jurisdictions. A pending bond request should not disappear every time ICE puts someone on another plane or bus.”
Hakobyan continued:
“An ICE agent invoked President Trump’s name when Alisa was taken at LAX. President Trump and his administration should now review what is being done in his name. Release Alisa on bond, return her to California and stop moving her before a court can fairly hear her case.”
Detention Conditions and Communication Failure
Before all contact was cut off on August 12, Darbinyan told her family about sleep deprivation, extreme temperature exposure, and serious difficulty communicating with the outside world. She also reported she could not reliably access the deportation officer assigned to manage her case.
The family says an Adelanto deportation officer identified as Officer Garcia never met with Darbinyan at any point during her confinement there. Information obtained at the facility indicated the officer had reportedly been absent from duty for approximately 12 days. No replacement officer substantively dealt with her custody or transfer status before she was moved to Texas.
The family wants a formal investigation into the conditions at every facility that has held Darbinyan, along with immediate confirmation of her current physical and mental state.
Her transfer to Camp East Montana on August 12 took place less than a month after Human Rights Watch and the American Civil Liberties Union published a major report documenting substantial barriers to family communication, confidential legal access, and adequate medical care at the Fort Bliss detention site. That report also documented repeated transfers that disrupted legal representation and court proceedings. While the broader findings do not prove what Darbinyan experienced during her brief time at the facility, they significantly increase the urgency of establishing what occurred and whether she had real access to counsel and communication.
The family additionally notes that Darbinyan was receiving medical treatment before her detention following an accident. Her husband has not been able to confirm whether treatment continued, whether her health has worsened, or whether her medical records accompanied her through the chain of transfers.
A Teacher and Her Students
During her last conversations with family, Darbinyan spoke again and again about her husband and the children she instructs.
In a statement delivered through her relatives, Darbinyan said:
“I keep thinking about my students and what they are going to do without me. I am separated from my husband, and now I cannot reach my family. I am asking the public and the government to look carefully at my case and see what ICE has done. I believe this was an illegal detention for no reason. I have never committed a crime, and I am asking for the chance to return to my husband, my students and my life while my immigration case continues.”
Darbinyan’s students are preparing for a November 1 classical concert at the Alex Theatre in Glendale. Her family and employer confirm she is the primary instructor for more than 95 children.
Vardanyan described her visit to Adelanto:
“She was exhausted, frightened and deeply worried about her students. Alisa is not a danger to anyone. She is a dedicated teacher whose students and their families depend on her. They keep asking where she is and when she is coming back. Every transfer takes her farther from her husband, her students and the community that is ready to support her.”
Vardanyan added:
“Alisa teaches children much more than violin. She gives them discipline, confidence, responsibility and stability. Her continued detention is not affecting only one person. It is hurting an entire community of children and families.”
Darbinyan’s published professional biography indicates she began violin studies at age six at Sayat-Nova Music School and graduated from the Komitas State Conservatory of Yerevan. She co-founded the Liberta ensemble in 2012, toured more than 20 cities across eight U.S. states, and has taught at multiple Southern California music schools. Her performance credits include appearances with internationally acclaimed musicians such as Richard Clayderman, Homayoun Shajarian, and the Siavash Orchestra.
The Family’s Demands
Darbinyan’s family is urging ICE leadership, the Department of Homeland Security, the Executive Office for Immigration Review, members of Congress, and the Trump administration to act without delay:
- Release Alisa Darbinyan on reasonable bond while her pending immigration case proceeds.
- Conduct an urgent review of her arrest, continued detention, and repeated transfers, including the legal authority relied upon at LAX and the effect of those transfers on her bond proceedings.
- Return Alisa to California and suspend any further transfers while her bond request and detention review are pending.
- Preserve and transfer her original bond request rather than requiring the process to begin again each time ICE changes her location.
- Provide immediate, reliable, and confidential communication with her husband and attorneys, together with written confirmation of her current physical condition.
- Provide Alisa and her legal representatives with all arrest, custody, charging, and transfer documents, including any administrative warrant, custody determination, Notice to Appear, and transfer records.
“This family is not asking the government to decide Alisa’s entire immigration case through a press release,” Hakobyan said. “We are asking the government to stop moving her, let a judge review the facts and release her on bond. Alisa has a husband, attorneys, employers, students and an entire community prepared to ensure that she attends every proceeding.”
Timeline
- August 2, 2026: ICE detains Alisa at LAX while she is preparing to travel to Hawaii with her U.S.-citizen husband. She is transported to the Adelanto ICE Processing Center.
- August 2-12: Alisa remains detained in Adelanto. A bond request is filed. The family says she never receives a bond decision on the merits and is unable to consistently meet with an assigned deportation officer.
- August 12: ICE transfers Alisa from Adelanto to Camp East Montana in El Paso, Texas. This is the last date on which her husband or family has confirmed communication with her.
- August 13: ICE transfers Alisa to a detention facility in Dilley, Texas.
- August 14: ICE transfers Alisa to the Port Isabel Service Processing Center.
- August 15: Her husband and family remain unable to speak with her. No bond hearing has been completed, and no judge has denied release on the merits.
Public Appeal
The family asks musicians, educators, parents, human-rights organizations, elected officials, members of the Armenian-American community, and concerned citizens to stand behind the call for Darbinyan’s immediate bond release and a halt to further transfers.
The official public campaign hashtag is: #FreeAlisa
High-resolution photographs, professional performance materials, employment verification, family and community declarations, the detention transfer timeline, and interviews with Darbinyan’s husband, employer, and family spokesperson are available to verified journalists upon request.
Media Contact
Artur Hakobyan
Family Spokesperson
Text Message only: 747-221-7332
artur@thenotar.com
