ICE Detains Delco Hospital Nurse During Her Family's Trip To Disneyland

LOS ANGELES — A Riddle Hospital nurse was set to enjoy a Disneyland vacation with her family. But when Monica Ryadi reached Los Angeles International Airport last month, she was detained by agents from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and held for two weeks.

Ryadi, an Indonesian woman, has lived in the United States since 2005, when she was about 9 years old. She and her family entered the country on visas. The 30-year-old has since married a U.S. citizen, had a child, and worked as a registered nurse for nine years, including during the COVID-19 pandemic.

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On Sept. 15, she arrived in Los Angeles for a planned trip to Disneyland with her husband and their 3-year-old son. But as soon as she left the plane, she was approached by ICE agents who claimed they had a warrant for her arrest, according to court documents filed by her attorneys.

One officer told Ryadi she was "out of status" and "not allowed to be in the country illegally," she said in court documents.

Ryadi replied, "I'm not illegal. I pay my taxes. I'm a registered nurse."

The officer allegedly responded, "I don't care if you are the President of the United States or a Congresswoman like Ilhan Omar." (U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar and President Donald Trump are United States citizens.)

Ryadi's husband asked the officer to see a law enforcement ID. But the officer threatened to arrest him and put their child in protective custody if he interfered, court documents say.

The nurse took out her phone and said she was calling a lawyer. But she was taken down a hallway in handcuffs. Ryadi was detained for two weeks at the Adelanto ICE Processing Center in California, until a judge ordered her supervised release on Tuesday.

Ryadi re-entered the world with an ankle monitor and newfound uncertainty about her future in the country she calls home. Her attorney, Eric Rosenfeld, said federal authorities still haven't shared a warrant or any paperwork explaining Ryadi's arrest.

"To me, that has been the most grotesque part of the process," Rosenfeld told Patch, "that there has been no process or disclosure."

After legally entering the U.S., Ryadi's parents sought asylum for the family within a timely manner. In 2010, an immigration court denied them asylum but granted them a petition of withholding.

While not the same as Green Card for permanent residency, petitions of withholding have allowed immigrants to lawfully live in the country without the threat of deportation.

But that has changed in the past two years. During President Trump's second term, the administration has aggressively pursued treaties with other countries called Asylum Cooperative Agreements, Rosenthal says. This has led to asylum seekers being sent to "third countries," where they have no connection.

During Ryadi's arrest, ICE agents told her she would be sent to a third country. But immigration authorities still haven't identified where, Rosenthal said.

A spokesperson for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) told Patch via email that Ryadi "overstayed her welcome. She received due process and was issued a final order of removal by an immigration judge in 2010."

The spokesperson, who did not provide their name, said Ryadi is living in the United States illegally.

Rosenthal said those claims are false.

"If they claim that she is no longer under valid withholding, then show us the documents," Rosenthal said. "They haven't done in, and they didn't do it in court."

Ryadi hopes to get her ankle monitor removed to prevent safety issues around technology at Riddle Hospital. But her ultimate goal is to obtain a Green Card.

In the meantime, Rosenthal says he and Ryadi are seeking answers from immigration authorities.

"Either they're too embarrassed that they're trying to remove the 'Disneyland nurse mom' and they don't want to be caught in a media storm," Rosenthal said, "or they don't have a legal basis and they're afraid of being chided on the record for doing something that's not only cruel but actually illegal."