Mr Ambrosi was held in ICE detention for two years.

In the 1990s, Mr. Ambrosi took a brave step, leaving his country of origin for a new life in the US, starting a business and family. However, in 2020, he temporarily returned to care for his sick mother. 

When he returned to the US in 2023, immigration officials arrested Mr. Ambrosi at the border, sending him to Folkston ICE jail in southern Georgia. For two long years, he remained trapped despite an immigration judge granting him relief based on his fear of persecution in his country of origin.  

For months, Mr. Ambrosi languished in detention, without proper treatment for his Type 2 diabetes and other medical conditions, all while ICE claimed to be searching for alternative countries to deport him to.  

The situation was dire until the Amica Center, with the help of local counsel, intervened, filing a federal habeas petition that challenged the legality of Mr. Ambrosi’s continued detention. After extensive legal battles, the court ordered his immediate release from ICE detention, declaring that his removal from the United States was not reasonably foreseeable and his detention was unlawful. 

Now free, Mr. Ambrosi has been reunited with his daughter, granddaughter, sister, and brother-in-law in Connecticut after five long years apart. He shared his relief, stating, “There is nothing better than being free. Justice finally prevailed. Little by little, I am building my life back.” 

Mr. Ambrosi’s case is the first significant victory to come from the Amica Center’s Southeast Habeas Project, launched earlier this year to expand immigration habeas representation into underserved regions of the United States with high populations of immigrants in detention, places like Georgia and Florida.