<div><strong>August Update:</strong>
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<div>Hey folks,
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<div>I have some disappointing news to share. On Aug 20, we learned that the Board of Immigration Appeals dismissed Armande's appeal, which means her deportation order under the ACA is now final. On top of that, her habeas was denied early in July, closing all immediate options for release.
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<div><strong>HOWEVER - that does NOT mean the fight is over. </strong>We are escalating her case to the U.S. Court of Appeals and asking a judge to order a stay, so ICE cannot deport her. We need to move fast on this, as every day that goes by is another day that ICE is legally able to remove Armande from this country until we get a stay approved. We don't want to take that risk.
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<div>As such, because we are opening a new case, we have another round of legal fees to fundraise. We need $10,600 more total to file with the U.S. Court of Appeals. Anything you can give would be a huge help. We're updating the goal to be a bit more than the 10k we need for legal fees, as we are a bit behind on the her regular financial needs of commissary and communication cost.
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<div>Thank you all for staying in this fight with us - Armande's resilience inspires me everyday when we get to connect over the phone, and I appreciate you sticking around as a supporter of her financially, in prayer, and in spirit.
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<div>Reagan
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<div><strong>More News!</strong>
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<div>We have retained a new lawyer for Armande who is a specialist in habeas corpus petitions to help get her out of detainment while she waits for her appeal and we’re doing another round of fundraising to cover the lawyer and filing fees. (If you want to read more about the recent success/history of ICE detainees being released habeas petitions <a href="https://www.iowapublicradio.org/ipr-news/2026-05-20/ice-detention-habeas-corpus-cases" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">you can read Katie Moore’s excellent article here</a>.)
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<div>Anything you can give will help! We just want Armande to finally be home.
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<div><strong><em>Update and thank you!</em></strong>
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<div>All of us are so grateful and overjoyed that we've met our initial goal in less than 24 hours! <strong>What we need from you now:</strong> the most important thing is getting Armande out of detention. <strong>Please</strong> <a href="https://www.freearmande.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">use the scripts on our website</a> to ask Armande's legislators to get her released on bond!
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<div><strong>About the surplus:</strong>
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<div>Anything that isn't used for Armande's legal fees and expenses associated with her detention will be donated to <a href="https://www.abideinlove.org/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Abide In Love</a>.
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<div><strong>About Armande:</strong>
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<div>Hi! I'm Jessica and I'm here on behalf of my friend and colleague, Armande Rhea Namegni.
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<div>Armande fled political violence in Cameroon and sought safety in the United States in 2019. Upon arrival, she immediately declared her status and applied for asylum. From that day forward, she has complied fully with every requirement placed before her—attending each mandated appointment and honoring every legal obligation asked of her.
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<div>She represents the very best of what we hope for in someone seeking to build a life here: a woman of deep faith and character who persevered through profound hardship, works in a highly technical field, and brings specialized skills that are rare and difficult to replace.
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<div>On January 22, 2026, Armande attended a routine immigration check-in, expecting nothing unusual. Instead, she was told there was a shoplifting charge on her record—a charge that was misattributed and has since been removed from her record, but the fact that it had never happened did not matter. She was taken into detention that evening and has not been released.
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<div>As of March 12, she has been held for 49 days without bond.
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<div>Despite having done everything right—despite the fact that the allegation leading to her detention was unfounded and has been cleared—Armande remains in Phelps County detention with no clear timeline for release.
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<div><strong>What is this gofundme for?</strong>
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<div>Armande's friends and loved ones are fighting for her release, but there are many expenses associated with being detained -- she lacks adequate food and clothing and needs commissary funds; all communications with the outside world are through an app where she has to pay for every interaction; and we are trying to mount a legal defense with all the fees associated with that. We need your help to keep her as comfortable as possible and get her out of there.
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<div><strong>Want To Do More?</strong>
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<div>I'm so glad you do! Please tell your friends about Armande, share this GoFundMe, and see "How You Can Help" at <a href="https://www.freearmande.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">freearmande</a> for scripts and information on how to contact her legislators to advocate for her release!
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Michelle Ouyang

Anonymous

Brian Nixon

Jessica Iocca

Christopher Smith

Stephen Commisso

Martin Brown

owen sanders

Michael Ndubuisi

Daniel Chen

Kwesi Yankson

Evan Peterson

Free Armande: Legal Defense and Care Fund

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Free Armande: Legal Defense and Care Fund

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