A native of Cameroon is seeking his immediate release from jail where he claims to have been held by ICE for nine months.
In a lawsuit filed last week in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Iowa, Emoh Yanik Fon, 33, is suing U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. (State court records indicate Yanik Fon also goes by the name “Yanick Fon Emoh” which, spelling differences aside, would not be unusual in some West African cultures.)
Yanik Fon, who is from the Republic of Cameroon, alleges he sought refuge in the United States after being subjected to abduction and torture by radical militants in his home country. He alleges he entered the United States without authorization at the Arizona border in March 2023.
In December 2024, the lawsuit states, he was convicted of drunken driving and served two days in jail. In February 2026, he showed up for a routine immigration check-in at an eastern Iowa ICE office, was detained and then sent to the Linn County Jail. Federal court records indicate Yanik Fon now resides in the Muscatine County Jail.
In March 2026, the lawsuit claims, Yanik Fon was summarily denied bond without any individualized assessment as to whether he was a flight risk or posed a danger to the community.
In his lawsuit, Yanik Fan argues he kept all of his scheduled appointments with immigration officials over the past three years, establishing a presumption that he was not a flight risk. His lawsuit seeks a declaration that he was denied his due-process rights and has been unlawfully detained.
A judge has yet to rule in the matter. and the U.S. Attorney’s Office, which does not comment on pending cases, has yet to file a response to the lawsuit with the court.
