LINN COUNTY, IOWA — Jose Yugar-Cruz was temporarily released by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in May 2026 during a World Health Organization-declared Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Uganda. The release came after Yugar-Cruz had been detained in an Iowa jail on May 17, 2026—the same day the WHO declared the outbreak a public health emergency.

Yugar-Cruz, a South American man, was first detained after crossing the U.S. border in July 2024. In January 2025, an immigration judge ruled he was more likely than not to face torture if deported to the DRC and therefore could not be removed there. ICE continued to hold him until late December 2025, when a federal judge ruled his detention unlawful. He was arrested again in April 2026 after the DRC agreed to accept him for deportation.

As of the Wednesday following May 17, 2026, the WHO reported more than 1,000 suspected or confirmed Ebola cases and over 240 suspected or confirmed deaths in the DRC and Uganda. The outbreak is largely concentrated in Ituri Province in northeastern DRC, about 1,000 miles from Kinshasa, where deported individuals have been housed.

Yugar-Cruz's attorneys wrote in a news release that prior to the outbreak, “despite protests in Minnesota and in Iowa, the Department of Homeland Security had refused to stop Yugar Cruz' deportation to the DRC or to consider relocation to another country and continent that would assure him a greater degree of safety as a victim of torture.” His planned deportation is part of a broader Trump administration effort to send immigrants to countries they are not from. According to the monitoring group Third Country Deportation Watch, the administration has signed agreements with at least 33 countries to accept certain U.S. deportees.

Before attempting to deport Yugar-Cruz to the DRC, ICE had previously tried unsuccessfully to remove him to Argentina, Chile, Paraguay, Mexico, and Canada, according to court records. His detention and deportation plans drew support from advocates and members of the Iowa community, including letters of support, accompaniment to ICE check-ins, and protests at the Linn County Courthouse.

Speaking from detention in April 2026, Yugar-Cruz told CBS News he felt he had been treated like “a person with no value,” and as if he had committed a serious crime. In the same news release announcing his release, he said, “Thank you to everyone who advocated for me and spoke out against these third-country deportations. The fight continues forward.” Yael Schacher, director for the Americas and Europe at Refugees International, criticized the policy, saying, “They are an immigration enforcement tool designed to coerce and threaten people, along with horrible conditions of detention, to basically give up.” Yugar-Cruz’s attorneys declined to provide additional comments or make him available for an interview following his release.