12 votes

He thought it was a routine US Immigration and Customs Enforcement check-in. Now his family fears he’ll be deported.

Posted by kfwyre
Tags: usa, politics.usa, republican party, donald trump, policy.immigration, immigration and customs enforcement, deportation, family, gaming, cameroon, author.antonio planas, author.rondez green, source.thebanner
https://www.thebanner.com/community/criminal-justice/ludovic-mbock-deportation-4HHPVY4P5JH3BJO5M6GIDGCMCQ/

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Title
Gaming pro from Cameroon detained by ICE for deportation
Authors
Antonio Planas,Rondez Green
Published
Mar 3 2026
Word count
914 words

4 comments

  1. kfwyre
    Link

    His family described it as a routine check-in with ICE for Ludovic Mbock, a 38-year-old regional video gaming champion who came to the U.S. from Cameroon legally as a teen and built a life in Oxon Hill.

    But Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Baltimore arrested him two weeks ago and sent him to detention facilities in Louisiana and Georgia. Mbock’s lawyer and family fear he will soon be deported back to Cameroon, where he will not be safe.

    “He’s an openly gay person. He won’t be able to survive in Cameroon,” said Mbock’s lawyer, Edward Neufville.

    Cameroon punishes same-sex activity with fines and prison sentences of up to five years. Mbock also has no family in Cameroon, said his sister, Diane Sohna, who was born in the U.S.

    In the past, the federal government was reluctant to send immigrants to countries with laws that threaten LGBTQIA+ people, but that changed under Trump, who in his second term embarked on a campaign of mass deportations. Campaigning on the issue, he promised to deport “the worse of the worst.”

    7 votes
  2. [2]
    semsevfor
    Link
    I don't understand, if he is here legally and has his paperwork, how can they deport him?

    I don't understand, if he is here legally and has his paperwork, how can they deport him?

    5 votes
    1. DefinitelyNotAFae
      Link Parent
      He's no longer technically here legally... Kinda. This shit is complicated; he lost his status when his parents divorced, he was ordered to leave, then was detained, then was released on what is...

      He's no longer technically here legally... Kinda. This shit is complicated; he lost his status when his parents divorced, he was ordered to leave, then was detained, then was released on what is basically cashless "bail" when it was determined he couldn't be deported to Cameroon, possibly due to him being queer. He was then allowed to stay and work here, but technically was still in this limbo. You can't detain someone indefinitely but also you can't deport him.

      This administration no longer cares about people who are unsafe due to being queer. It's possible this is about that, or about his civil case. Or, like one person described in another office, they were detaining everyone who came in for their regular check-in, spouses of citizens, green card holders, everyone.

      13 votes
  3. kfwyre
    Link
    Update: Maryland man released from ICE Detention, reunites with loved ones (this was published weeks ago, but I didn’t see it until now)

    Update: Maryland man released from ICE Detention, reunites with loved ones

    Ludovic Marcel Mbock has been released from an ICE Processing Center in Folkston, Georgia, and is expected to reunite with his loved ones Saturday night — capping a nearly three week period that began with a shocking detention and ended with a hard-fought victory.

    An immigration judge granted Mbock a $4,000 bond Friday morning in a Hyattsville immigration courtroom. "The low bond means he's not a flight risk or danger to the community," said Attorney Edward Neufville, III.

    Family and friends moved quickly to pay the bond, and their efforts paid off. Mbock, who had spoken with WUSA9 by phone from the Georgia facility just a day earlier, expressed deep gratitude. "I feel loved. I'm thankful for the support."

    But those closest to Mbock say the celebration will be brief. With his asylum case now reopened, they are already preparing for the road ahead.

    "We celebrate, we take a moment to recollect. Then Monday, we're hitting the ground running preparing the whole case," said longtime friend Nikhil Delahaye.

    (this was published weeks ago, but I didn’t see it until now)

    2 votes