95 Students Left Without a Teacher: The Community and Economic Toll of a Glendale Violinist’s ICE Detention
GLENDALE, Calif., August 15, 2026 — When ICE agents detained Alisa Darbinyan at Los Angeles International Airport on August 2, they did not simply remove one individual from the community. They abruptly severed the professional and educational lifeline connecting more than 95 young musicians to the teacher who has shaped their artistic development. Families across Glendale are now scrambling to find interim instruction, a planned November concert at the Alex Theatre faces cancellation, and the music school that employs Darbinyan is grappling with the sudden loss of its most active instructor.
Darbinyan, a professional violinist and music educator, was seized while she and her husband, Haik Abovian — a citizen of the United States by birth — prepared to fly domestically to Hawaii. Since her arrest, she has been moved through four detention facilities in California and Texas. Her family has had no contact with her since August 12 and is publicly demanding her immediate release on bond.
An Arrest Without a Judicial Order
At LAX, an ICE officer who gave his name as Waseem approached the couple with a group of agents and declared that Darbinyan was being taken into 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.”
The executive order President Trump signed on January 20, 2025 calls on federal agencies to broadly enforce immigration laws against individuals classified as inadmissible or removable. The same order stipulates that detention must remain within what the law allows. The family is demanding that ICE and the White House explain whether the agent’s claims at the airport accurately described official policy and specify the legal authority that was actually invoked.
A Clean Immigration Record
Darbinyan entered the country through legal channels and, her family states, filed her asylum application before her authorized stay lapsed. She has no criminal record whatsoever, carries no removal order, and has never missed an immigration hearing, government appointment, or check-in of any kind. She had no pending appointment with ICE or USCIS at the time of her arrest.
The family reports that ICE has not yet provided a judicial warrant, court order, custody determination, Notice to Appear, or any other document identifying the precise statutory grounds for Darbinyan’s ongoing detention.
Four Facilities in 12 Days — and a Bond Case Left in Limbo
Darbinyan was first taken to the Adelanto ICE Processing Center on August 2. Her legal team promptly filed for her release on bond. Before the court could act on that filing, ICE transferred 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 then canceled or blocked from moving forward because Darbinyan was no longer within that court’s jurisdictional reach. She was subsequently transferred to Dilley, Texas on August 13 and to the Port Isabel Service Processing Center on August 14.
No immigration judge has turned down Darbinyan’s bond request on the merits. No judge has concluded that she represents a danger to public safety, a flight risk, or a national security threat.
EOIR Policy Memorandum 25-49, which was designed specifically for these circumstances, mandates that when DHS moves a detained individual out of the original immigration court’s geographic area, the pending bond request “must remain pending” and must be clerically transferred to the proper 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.”
Harsh Conditions and Total Isolation
In her last communications before going silent on August 12, Darbinyan reported experiencing sleep deprivation, exposure to extreme temperatures, and serious difficulty contacting her family. She also stated she could not get consistent access to the deportation officer managing her case.
The family says an Adelanto deportation officer identified as Officer Garcia never met with Darbinyan during her time at that facility. Information gathered at Adelanto indicated the officer had reportedly been away from work for about 12 days. No substitute officer substantively addressed her custody or transfer situation before she was sent to Texas.
The family is demanding an investigation into detention conditions and immediate confirmation of Darbinyan’s physical and mental wellbeing.
Her August 12 transfer to Camp East Montana also came less than a month after Human Rights Watch and the American Civil Liberties Union published a major report documenting barriers to family communication, confidential legal access, and adequate medical care at the Fort Bliss detention site. That report also recorded repeated transfers that disrupted legal representation and court proceedings. While the broader findings do not prove what happened to Darbinyan specifically during her brief stay, they greatly intensify the need to establish her conditions and access to counsel.
The family adds that Darbinyan was undergoing medical treatment following an accident before her detention. Her husband has not been able to verify whether treatment continued, whether her condition has deteriorated, or whether her records followed her through the successive transfers.
The Impact on 95 Students and Their Families
In the final conversations before she lost contact, Darbinyan returned again and again to the subject of her husband and the children she teaches.
In a statement passed along through her family, 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 is a professional violinist and music educator whose students are preparing for a November 1 classical concert at the Alex Theatre in Glendale. Her family and employer confirm she bears responsibility for the musical education of more than 95 children.
“I visited Alisa while she was detained in Adelanto,” said Sona Vardanyan, owner of Sonata Music School.
“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 professional biography notes that she started playing violin at age six at Sayat-Nova Music School and went on to graduate from the Komitas State Conservatory of Yerevan. She co-founded the Liberta ensemble in 2012, toured over 20 cities in eight U.S. states, and has taught at multiple Southern California music schools. Her career includes performances alongside internationally acclaimed musicians such as Richard Clayderman, Homayoun Shajarian, and the Siavash Orchestra.
Demands
Darbinyan’s family is calling on ICE leadership, the Department of Homeland Security, the Executive Office for Immigration Review, members of Congress, and the Trump administration to take the following steps immediately:
- 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 invites musicians, educators, parents, human-rights organizations, elected officials, members of the Armenian-American community, and concerned members of the public to join the call for Darbinyan’s immediate bond release and a stop 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
