Center for Justice Reform Clinic Represents Steven Tendo

SOUTH ROYALTON, Vermont (Feb. 25, 2026) — A Vermont man was released from detention by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement after filing a petition for writ of habeas corpus with the U.S. District Court in New Hampshire through his attorneys from the Center for Justice Reform Clinic (CJRC) at Vermont Law and Graduate School.

U.S. District Judge Joseph N. Laplante on Friday ordered the release of Pastor Steven Tendo, who was held in New Hampshire for 16 days after inadequate ICE notice of revocation of his longstanding order of supervision. Tendo was arrested on Feb. 4, 2026 — just two days before his previously scheduled in-person check-in with ICE.

CJRC Visiting Professor Christopher Worth, who represented Tendo before Judge Laplante on Friday, states, “We are very happy that the judge ordered in Pastor Tendo’s favor, and we’re very happy he’s coming home to be in our community in Vermont.”

Brett Stokes, CJRC director, said, “After two weeks of fighting for his release, Steven Tendo is now able to continue with his years-long work of seeking a safe and happy life in the United States. He escaped a dangerous home country and has bravely advocated for himself since. We at the Center for Justice Reform Clinic are pleased that Judge Laplante ordered his release.”

Tendo, who was born in Uganda, has been fighting for asylum as the result of persecution he faced in Uganda since first arriving in the United States in 2018. During this time, he has been an exemplary member of the community and has remained in compliance with the ICE supervision he had been granted. Tendo has been living in Vermont since 2021 and fighting against deportation to the country where he suffered significant torture at the hands of Ugandan security services.

In November of 2025, he moved to reopen his immigration proceedings and for a stay of removal — these requests remain pending before the Board of Immigration Appeals. CJRC is also presently investigating alternate forms of relief from removal.

His most recent stay of removal expired Feb. 3 of this year. On Feb. 2, his counsel informed ICE that he planned to apply for a new stay in tandem with a scheduled check-in on Feb. 6.

Instead, ICE detained Tendo on Feb. 4, at an assisted living facility where he works as a nurse in Shelburne, Vermont. At the time of his arrest, Tendo was given no warrant for his arrest nor notice of the basis for the revocation of his longstanding order of supervision. Tendo was relocated to New Hampshire upon his arrest.

On that same day, Feb. 4, Tendo filed a petition for writ of habeas corpus before the Federal District Court of New Hampshire, challenging the lawfulness of his renewed detention.

In the order granting Tendo’s petition, Judge Laplante noted that Tendo had complied with the requirements imposed on him while “living at liberty in the United States and developing deep ties to his community.”

Because ICE failed to comply with regulations from the Dept. of Homeland Security, which governs revocation of release, “Tendo’s re-detention is unlawful,” according to the court order filed on Feb. 20.

Tendo’s legal team is comprised of Christopher Worth (Visiting Professor) and Brett Stokes (Director) – CJRC at Vermont Law and Graduate School; Elizabeth C. Velez – Director of Litigation, Orr & Reno; and Fatma Marouf – Professor of Law and Director of Legal Clinics at Texas A&M School of Law.

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Vermont Law and Graduate School, a private, independent institution, is home to a law school that offers ABA-accredited residential and online hybrid JD programs and a graduate school that offers master’s degrees and certificates in multiple disciplines, including programs offered by the Maverick Lloyd School for the Environment, the Center for Justice Reform and other graduate-level programs emphasizing the intersection of environmental justice, social justice and public policy. Both the law and graduate schools strongly feature experiential clinical and field work learning. For more information, visit vermontlaw.edu, LinkedIn, Facebook and Instagram.