Edward Nalwamba ice release Colorado ended Tuesday evening when ICE freed the 79-year-old from the Aurora detention facility after a federal judge ordered his immediate release. Nalwamba had been detained for 13 months before the release, and he said he was unable to stand on his own when two men carried him out.
His wheelchair had been taken away, and Nalwamba was carried out in the arms of two men released alongside him. After learning Monday that U.S. Magistrate Judge Cyrus Y. Chung had ordered his release, Nalwamba described years of compliance with immigration authorities and said, “Anytime they called me, I went to them.”
Cyrus Y. Chung order
Chung wrote that “Today, there is still no removal” and that “There is not even a concrete plan for one.” The judge also wrote, “ICE is working on scheduling,” followed by, “That will not do.” Those lines set out the basis for the release order: federal officials had not shown certainty that they could remove Nalwamba to Uganda.
Nalwamba, a retired Anglican priest, came to the United States in 2002 for a religious conference and stayed because he feared retaliation if he returned to Uganda. He had publicly opposed the Ugandan government and had been targeted by government officials before he left Uganda. He was arrested and released under a supervision order in 2010, then arrested again in September 2025, according to his account.
ICE deportation claims
ICE officials repeatedly attempted to deport Nalwamba after his detention. In June, ICE attorneys told a federal judge that his deportation was imminent, and in late July ICE later told the federal magistrate the same thing. The release order undercut both claims by finding no removal in place and no concrete plan to carry one out.
Joy Athanasiou said earlier Tuesday, “Obviously, we’re so thrilled and relieved that he’s being released.” Athanasiou also said ICE agents pressured Nalwamba to sign a document that they would not let him or his attorney review. After the release, Nalwamba said, “They told me they are getting to keep me in prison forever” and, “So, I was ready for whatever.”
For Nalwamba, the immediate change is simple: he is out of ICE custody after 13 months. What happens next legally was not laid out in the release announcement, but the judge’s order means federal officials can no longer hold him on the record they had been using to justify continued detention.
