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New Mexico In Depth investigation revealed ICE detained U-visa applicant Damián Soto for months; Soto says an officer pressured him to self-deport

A January 12, 2026 New Mexico In Depth investigation revealed that ICE arrested Damian Soto, a 31-year-old San Bernardino, California man with a pending, preliminarily-approved U visa, at his home in June 2025 and detained him for months, transferring him through Los Angeles and El Paso facilities to CoreCivic's Cibola County Correctional Center in Grants, New Mexico, where, according to Soto, a detention officer urged him to sign voluntary-departure paperwork. Soto's family found the New Mexico Immigrant Law Center, which filed a federal habeas corpus petition the government did not oppose; Soto was released without bail or an ankle monitor, though his immigration court case continues.

Jurisdiction
Federal
Location
Grants, New Mexico

Abuses documented

Actors

New Mexico In Depth reported on January 12, 2026 that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement had arrested and detained Damian Soto, 31, for months despite his pending, preliminarily-approved U visa -- a status based on his cooperation as a victim and witness in a drive-by shooting case, approved in March 2025. ICE agents arrested Soto outside his San Bernardino, California home one morning in June 2025; the exact date is not established in public reporting. He was transferred through San Bernardino, Los Angeles, and El Paso facilities before landing at CoreCivic's Cibola County Correctional Center in Grants, New Mexico.

While detained, an officer told him, "if you fight this case you're going to be here another year. You should just sign and self-deport" -- he nearly signed voluntary-departure paperwork before his mother's reaction stopped him. Reporting does not establish whether this officer was ICE or facility staff. His sister-in-law located the New Mexico Immigrant Law Center, which filed a federal habeas corpus petition (Soto Valenzuela v. Dedos, 1:25-cv-01048, D.N.M.).

The government did not oppose the petition, and Soto was released months after his arrest without bail or an ankle monitor, though his underlying immigration court case continues. No ICE or DHS on-the-record statement appears in the reporting; Soto's account of the detention and the pressure to self-deport is corroborated by his family but not by an independent witness.

Why we recorded this

Due process requires immigration detention to rest on a lawful basis, and people pursuing legal status through proper channels -- including U-visa petitioners cooperating with police as crime victims or witnesses -- should not be coerced into abandoning valid claims. ICE arrested and detained Damian Soto for months despite his pending, preliminarily-approved U visa, and, according to Soto, a detention officer pressured him to sign voluntary-departure paperwork rather than contest his case. This archive records the detention because the government's own decision not to oppose his habeas petition, and his release without bail or monitoring, indicate the detention lacked a defensible basis.

Sources

  1. He almost signed his own deportation. A habeas petition in a New Mexico federal court saved him. — New Mexico In Depth primary accessed August 31, 2026
  2. Soto Valenzuela v. Dedos, 1:25-cv-01048 (D.N.M.) — CourtListener secondary accessed August 31, 2026

See also