A Kennett, Missouri, woman whose detainment by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials made national headlines was released Wednesday afternoon.
Carol Mayorga, whose legal name is Ming Li Hui, had been in ICE custody since late April, when she was detained during what she thought was a routine meeting with the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services office.
During that meeting, ICE officers shackled the mother of three and transported her via van to Phelps County Jail in Rolla, Missouri, and eventually, over a month later, to Greene County Jail in Springfield, Missouri.
But on Wednesday at around 4:30 p.m., jail officials walked Mayorga out of the jail, according to her attorney, Raymond Bolourtchi. He said Mayorga would return to Kennett that evening.
Bolourtchi said a legal review by the Eastern District office of the U.S. Attorney General and members of ICE’s legal team determined Mayorga was eligible for a U.S. Immigration and Customs Services program known as Deferred Enforcement Departure, which applies to certain residents of Hong Kong.
The attorney said he planned to file a federal lawsuit on Mayorga’s behalf to prove she was eligible for the program. He said the threat of a lawsuit triggered a second review.
However, Bolourtchi said Mayorga is not out of the woods and still has an order of deportation. The Deferred Enforcement Departure is only in effect until February 2027. Mayorga plans to continue to fight to reopen her deportation case, he added.
Mayorga’s arrest made waves through the rural town where she lived for around 20 years, where residents who voted for President Donald Trump and support his immigration policies wrestled with the arrest of their neighbor and friend.
“Ninety-five percent of the people in here support Trump — I do, too — but this is wrong,” said Bud Garrison, a daily customer at John’s Waffle and Pancake House in Kennett, about Mayorga’s arrest. The restaurant raised more than $20,000 for Mayorga and her children last month.
Her story also received national media coverage.
Mayorga lived in the U.S. under an order of supervision and an employment authorization document that allowed her to work legally in the U.S. It was set to expire in January 2026.
Mayorga fled Hong Kong at age 20 after saving up enough money working as an assistant manager at a McDonald’s. She legally entered the U.S. in 2004 with a nonimmigrant visa to escape abuse from her mother and a culture that did not value women, she would later tell an immigration court.
Mayorga told the court her mother favored her brothers and regretted having a daughter. The abuse eventually turned physical. She recalled her mother cutting her hair short and making her dress like a boy.
“The abuse included the mother burning her hand with a cigarette butt, withholding food, calling her ‘trash, garbage,’ and telling her she ‘wish[ed] you’d die soon,’” a court petition read.
Fearing a return to Hong Kong, she stayed past the expiration of her visa, Bolourtchi said. In 2008, she received a deportation notice from an immigration court and, according to court records, conceded that she was in the country illegally before turning to asylum and other avenues as a way to avoid returning to Hong Kong.
Court records show she presented letters from family members warning Mayorga that her mother still thought violently about her and that she should remain in the U.S.
But an immigration judge denied all three requests, and the U.S. Board of Immigration Appeals later ruled against a petition she filed seeking a review of the decision in 2014.
The appeals board asserted that due to Mayorga’s age, then 34, her mother was no longer a threat to her life or freedom and that she could return to Hong Kong safely.
From there, Mayorga said she continued living and working through an employment authorization document and an order of supervision, which allowed her to remain in the country as she worked toward citizenship. She traveled to St. Louis frequently to renew her documents.
“She has had that every year, and she’s paid her taxes, she’s been duly employed,” Bolourtchi said. “She’s always provided for her family and has been really devoted to taking care of her son and her other children.”
This story has been updated with details from Mayorga's lawyer about the circumstances leading to her release.
The Midwest Newsroom is an investigative and enterprise journalism collaboration that includes St. Louis Public Radio, Iowa Public Radio, KCUR, Nebraska Public Media and NPR.
There are many ways you can contact us with story ideas and leads, and you can find that information here. The Midwest Newsroom is a partner of the Trust Project. We invite you to review our ethics and practices here.
METHODS
To tell this story, reporter Kavahn Mansouri confirmed rumors of Carol Mayorga’s release from Greene County Jail with her lawyer, Raymond Bolourtchi. Previously, he had spoken with Mayorga during her detainment and traveled to Kennett, Missouri, where she lives, to speak with the town about her story.
TYPE OF ARTICLE
News: Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources.
