# Judge orders ICE to free 78-year-old Ugandan priest Edward Nalwamba after 13 months in Aurora detention

A federal magistrate judge granted the Colorado priest's habeas petition, finding officials had not shown they could deport him to Uganda. His immigration case remains open.

By The Signal Edition | News / Immigration
Published: 2026-10-21T18:33:52Z
Updated: 2026-10-21T18:33:52Z
Canonical: https://www.thesignaledition.com/article/edward-nalwamba-ice-release-colorado-ang8sk
Image: https://www.thesignaledition.com/media/01866f70c2e1773dabc4ee6f2fb101df.webp (Rev. Edward Nalwamba, 78, sits in a vehicle after his release from ICE detention in Aurora, Colorado, on Oct. 20, 2026; credit: CBS Colorado)

## Summary
- U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement released Rev. Edward Nalwamba, 78, from its Aurora, Colorado, detention facility on Oct. 20, 2026, after about 13 months in custody.
- U.S. Magistrate Judge Cyrus Y. Chung granted his habeas corpus petition on Oct. 19, finding federal officials had not shown they could remove him to Uganda, according to KGNU.
- His attorney says he entered custody healthy and left unable to walk unaided; DHS has said detainees receive comprehensive medical care.
- Nalwamba's underlying immigration case is unresolved, and his lawyer has said she is concerned ICE could detain him again.

## Released on court order

Immigration and Customs Enforcement released Rev. Edward Nalwamba, a 78-year-old Ugandan priest who has lived in Colorado for more than two decades, from its detention facility in Aurora on Tuesday, Oct. 20, about 13 months after agents arrested him, CBS Colorado reported. [1](https://www.cbsnews.com/colorado/news/priest-carried-colorado-ice-facility-detainees-judge-orders-release/)

A federal judge granted Nalwamba's habeas corpus petition on Monday, Oct. 19, and ordered his release by the following day, according to CBS Colorado. Community radio station KGNU identified the judge as U.S. Magistrate Judge Cyrus Y. Chung and reported that he ruled federal officials had not shown they were able to remove Nalwamba to Uganda. [1](https://www.cbsnews.com/colorado/news/priest-carried-colorado-ice-facility-detainees-judge-orders-release/) [2](https://kgnu.org/ice-releases-ugandan-priest-district-8-candidates-talk-taxes-climate-ai-sundance-moves-hq-in-union-dispute-declining-school-enrollment-may-force-closure-of-denver-schools/)

Nalwamba could not walk out on his own. CBS Colorado footage showed two fellow detainees carrying him to a waiting vehicle; the station reported that staff had refused to let him use a wheelchair beyond the facility gate. KGNU reported that the two men who carried him were released at the same time. [1](https://www.cbsnews.com/colorado/news/priest-carried-colorado-ice-facility-detainees-judge-orders-release/) [2](https://kgnu.org/ice-releases-ugandan-priest-district-8-candidates-talk-taxes-climate-ai-sundance-moves-hq-in-union-dispute-declining-school-enrollment-may-force-closure-of-denver-schools/)

Sen. John Hickenlooper, a Colorado Democrat, wrote on social media that staff of The GEO Group, the private company that runs the Aurora facility, had promised his office Nalwamba could call his caretakers and have a wheelchair, and that neither promise was kept, CBS Colorado reported. As of Tuesday evening, the Department of Homeland Security had not answered the station's questions about the wheelchair or his medical treatment. [1](https://www.cbsnews.com/colorado/news/priest-carried-colorado-ice-facility-detainees-judge-orders-release/)

## Health claims during detention

Nalwamba's attorney, Joy Athanasiou, told CBS Colorado he was in good health when ICE detained him on Sept. 18, 2025. She said he was diagnosed with pneumonia in January, lost more than 30 pounds, collapsed in custody and has had a respiratory illness since June. Athanasiou said he could once do 15 to 20 push-ups and is now "wheelchair-bound." [1](https://www.cbsnews.com/colorado/news/priest-carried-colorado-ice-facility-detainees-judge-orders-release/)

In August, Colorado Newsline reported that a physician assistant who reviewed his records believed he likely had latent tuberculosis and urged further testing, and that his records showed possible signs of prostate cancer that had not been evaluated by a specialist. Athanasiou also said at the time that ICE had repeatedly pressured him to accept deportation, a claim ICE called "categorically false." [3](https://www.newsfromthestates.com/node/422643)

In a June statement cited by CBS Colorado, a DHS spokesperson said it is longstanding practice to provide comprehensive medical care from the moment a person enters ICE custody. [1](https://www.cbsnews.com/colorado/news/priest-carried-colorado-ice-facility-detainees-judge-orders-release/)

## A removal order dating to 2010

Nalwamba arrived in the United States from Uganda in 2002 for a religious conference and stayed, according to Colorado Newsline and Westword. He served about 15 years as a priest at Resurrection Anglican Fellowship in Greenwood Village before retiring. Supporters and his lawyers say he faces persecution in Uganda because he publicly criticized the government of President Yoweri Museveni. [4](https://www.newsfromthestates.com/node/414532) [5](https://www.westword.com/news/colorado-church-fights-ice-to-keep-pastor-in-us-40903795/)

DHS said in June that he overstayed a tourist visa, was granted voluntary departure in 2007 and received a final removal order in 2010, CBS Colorado reported. Colorado Newsline, citing court records, reported that the Tenth Circuit denied his asylum appeal in April 2010, that ICE held him from November 2010 into 2011, and that he then lived under supervised release without incident until his 2025 arrest. [1](https://www.cbsnews.com/colorado/news/priest-carried-colorado-ice-facility-detainees-judge-orders-release/) [4](https://www.newsfromthestates.com/node/414532)

ICE had scheduled his deportation for as early as June 30, 2026, and a federal judge denied an earlier habeas petition on that basis, according to Colorado Newsline. Westword reported at the time that Uganda was facing a major Ebola outbreak. The deportation did not take place, and his attorneys filed a new habeas petition in August. Public reporting reviewed for this article does not explain why the June removal was not carried out. [4](https://www.newsfromthestates.com/node/414532) [5](https://www.westword.com/news/colorado-church-fights-ice-to-keep-pastor-in-us-40903795/) [3](https://www.newsfromthestates.com/node/422643)

## What comes next

The ruling ends Nalwamba's detention but does not resolve his immigration case, CBS Colorado reported. His attorneys had also asked an immigration court to reopen his asylum case, citing worsening conditions in Uganda, according to Westword; the outcome of that motion has not been reported. [1](https://www.cbsnews.com/colorado/news/priest-carried-colorado-ice-facility-detainees-judge-orders-release/) [5](https://www.westword.com/news/colorado-church-fights-ice-to-keep-pastor-in-us-40903795/)

Supporters are arranging medical care and hope he can begin physical therapy, CBS Colorado reported. Athanasiou told the station she is concerned ICE could seek to detain him again. DHS and ICE had not publicly commented on the release order as of the latest reporting. [1](https://www.cbsnews.com/colorado/news/priest-carried-colorado-ice-facility-detainees-judge-orders-release/)

## Reporting sources
1. [CBS Colorado: 78-year-old priest carried out of Colorado ICE facility by fellow detainees after judge orders release](https://www.cbsnews.com/colorado/news/priest-carried-colorado-ice-facility-detainees-judge-orders-release/) (2026-10-20)
2. [KGNU: ICE releases Ugandan priest; District 8 candidates talk taxes, climate, AI; Sundance moves HQ in union dispute; Declining school enrollment may force closure of Denver schools](https://kgnu.org/ice-releases-ugandan-priest-district-8-candidates-talk-taxes-climate-ai-sundance-moves-hq-in-union-dispute-declining-school-enrollment-may-force-closure-of-denver-schools/) (2026-10-21)
3. [Colorado Newsline (via News From The States): Health of Colorado priest in ICE custody deteriorating after almost a year in detention](https://www.newsfromthestates.com/node/422643) (2026-08-14)
4. [Colorado Newsline (via News From The States): ICE plans to deport Colorado priest despite poor health and threats to safety in Uganda](https://www.newsfromthestates.com/node/414532) (2026-06-26)
5. [Westword: "I'm fearful for his life": Colorado church fights to keep pastor in the U.S.](https://www.westword.com/news/colorado-church-fights-ice-to-keep-pastor-in-us-40903795/) (2026-06-26)