Ilia is a 24-year-old democratic activist who recently fled from a threatening environment in his hometown of Russia. However, after fleeing, he was detained and placed in prison-like detention by the very country he believed would protect him: the United States.
“I fled Russia for increasingly strict laws because of the government that began to persecute me because of political views and sexual orientation,” Ilia says. “I believed the United States would help me.”
Like many critics of Putin’s administration, Ilia was furious in January 2021 when Russian authorities arrested democratic opposition leader Alexei Navalny. In response, he joined the national protest and began a “free Navany” flyer around the city of Crosnodor, a southern Russian city. The government’s response was brutal, with thousands of people being detained and many being beaten or tasseled by the police. In February 2024, Navalny died under suspicious circumstances in a Russian prison camp.
By then, Ilia had already fled the country after being threatened by the Russian intelligence officer. Non-binary, he faced additional risks under Putin’s increasingly repressive laws. His mere presence could mean persecution or imprisonment.
Ilia headed to Mexico, where she traced the asylum process to a letter. He spent eight months near the border waiting for an appointment for one CBP. In May 2024 he arrived for appointment and was ready to make his point. Instead, he was taken into custody, detained and ended up at a Louisiana facility known for his abuse and neglect.
“I applied for asylum because I believed the US would help me,” Ilia says. “But when I was sent to the Winn Correctional Center in Louisiana, I was faced with horrific treatment. The way officers treat detainees is terrible. Ilia has filed multiple complaints during her years at Winn and can’t answer them.
Although he was detained before President Trump took office, Ilia experienced first-hand the Trump administration’s tough immigration stance. In March 2025, Ilia won his asylum lawsuit after an immigrant judge reviewed 900 pages of evidence, including threats from Russian intelligence and letters of support from those who witnessed his activities. At this point, Ilia should have been released from detention and allowed to begin building his life here. Instead, the Trump administration has refused to let him go.
Ilia has no criminal history and poses no threat to his community. In fact, he won his asylum case because he targeted the country to maintain the highly democratic ideal of freedom of speech if it was established. The result is a long-term unnecessary suffering, even for those whose systems are already considered to be worthy of protection.
“situation [in the detention centers] Ilia explains that the facilities he has been protected have become his biggest capabilities since Trump took office.
