Wake County teacher granted bail after family says she was wrongfully detained by ICE

RALEIGH, N.C. (WNCN) — A Wake County school teacher was granted bail on Tuesday after her family says she was wrongly detained by ICE.

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Venkata Vasamsetty has lived in Cary for decades now, and her family says she is legally allowed to be in the country.

According to her family, Vasamsetty has held a green card since 2013. In 2022, they say she went to visit her sick dad in India and stayed longer than expected because of the COVID-19 pandemic. When she returned, her family says she was told that by being gone for so long, she forfeited her green card.

After a legal battle, her family says a court dismissed that idea, and her legal standing was no longer questioned.

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Then earlier this month, she went to check in with immigration services in Charlotte and was detained by ICE. An attorney working with her says she’s been in a detention center in Georgia since then with no real answers.

A judge granted her bail on Tuesday, saying the Department of Homeland Security didn’t prove that she’s a flight risk. But some lawmakers who were involved in getting answers say it’s not enough.

“Venkata Vasamsetty is coming home to Cary, but she should’ve never left in the first place, and I think it’s just another example of where lawmakers and the public need answers about why ICE detained a schoolteacher,” Sen. Jay Chaudhuri, who has worked with the family, said.

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Her family says she has no criminal record.