{"id":3437,"date":"2026-06-09T19:34:32","date_gmt":"2026-06-09T19:34:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=3437"},"modified":"2026-06-09T19:34:32","modified_gmt":"2026-06-09T19:34:32","slug":"free-izzy-orlando-resident-fights-for-release-from-ice-detention-in-pennsylvania","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=3437","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Free Izzy\u2019: Orlando resident fights for release from ICE detention in Pennsylvania"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\n

Late last year, immigration authorities allowed Islam Aly to fly from Orlando to his native Egypt after the death of his father. But they didn\u2019t let him come back to Florida.<\/p>\n

Read more FHSAA\u2019s Open Division playoffs are set for 2026, starting with football, volleyball<\/a><\/p>\n

Instead, Aly, a 40-year-old green card applicant and a former University of Central Florida student, was arrested Dec. 23 after arriving at Philadelphia International Airport and turned over to Immigration and Customs Enforcement.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not clear why ICE detained Aly, and an agency spokesperson did not respond to messages seeking an explanation.<\/p>\n

It wasn\u2019t until three weeks later that he sent word to his friends of his whereabouts: the notorious Moshannon Valley Processing Center in central Pennsylvania, an ICE detention facility local activists have pushed to close amid reports of medical neglect of detainees \u2014 including Aly \u2014 and a recent hunger strike.<\/p>\n

Ever since, Aly\u2019s friends and political activists in Pennsylvania have demanded his release, especially after he was diagnosed with Stage 3B chronic kidney disease during a medical exam in January while in ICE custody \u2014 a diagnosis he was not told until two months later, his friends say.<\/p>\n

A GoFundMe page created to cover his legal expenses and medical care has raised more than $10,000.<\/p>\n

But on top of managing an illness his supporters fear will exacerbate without proper medical treatment, he now faces deportation after an immigration judge on May 12 denied his green card application.<\/p>\n

\u201cI committed no felonies in my entire life,\u201d Aly said in a statement via his friend Mark Barfield, former vice-chair of Florida\u2019s Libertarian Party. \u201cI\u2019ve never been arrested or charged with a crime. I never showed up in a courtroom over any criminal activity before this year. The only court I\u2019ve ever been in is this immigration court.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

Aly arrived to the U.S. on a student visa in 2013 and enrolled at UCF, where he graduated in 2016 with a master\u2019s degree in electrical engineering. State licensing records list him as an engineering intern as of April 2025.<\/p>\n

\u201cHere\u2019s a fellow who did quite well at a university in Egypt,\u201d said Barfield. \u201cHe tells us that he was attracted to several universities over here, but he chose UCF because of its reputation and climate, and this is how the United States treats that caliber a person.\u201d<\/p>\n

His friends, who know him as \u201cIzzy,\u201d said Aly is a cosplayer and surrounds himself with a community he met through conventions and online gaming. His passion for games led him to start Kronotiq Media, an Orlando-based media production firm founded in 2016, through which he published a card game called Cons Against Our Sanity.<\/p>\n

U.S. Citizen and Immigration Services had authorized him to leave for Egypt to settle his late father\u2019s affairs, according to Barfield. While green card applicants generally risk canceling the process by leaving, authorities can allow them to temporarily exit the country under specific circumstances such as a family emergency.<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

It\u2019s not clear what changed once he returned. A federal habeas corpus petition filed in the Western District of Pennsylvania remains pending while he appeals his deportation in immigration court. Records in the federal case were not readily accessible online.<\/p>\n

His friends told the Orlando Sentinel\u00a0that at the time of his arrest,<\/strong>\u00a0he was expected to come home in time for Christmas and had last heard from him as he boarded his plane to return stateside. Then the messages stopped.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy heart sank at that point,\u201d one friend, Eric Bennett, said of the moment he found out what happened to Aly.<\/p>\n

Read more Gators\u2019 Thomas Haugh: \u2018It\u2019s national championship or bust\u2019 for star-studded roster<\/a><\/p>\n

With his cellphone seized and no way to contact anyone for weeks after he was taken into custody, the life Aly built in Orlando quickly unraveled. His car was repossessed, and in March, a judge issued an order to evict him from his Hunters Creek apartment, according to court records.<\/p>\n

Since no one could claim his property \u2014 valuables, devices, projects and data gathered over many years \u2014 they were auctioned off, said Daria Laycock, another one of his friends. His cat, Mia, was also taken away.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor us, it was like watching a man\u2019s life fall apart and then trying to pick up the pieces, but we\u2019re not legally tied to this guy,\u201d Laycock said. \u201cI\u2019m not his wife, I\u2019m not his mother, I can\u2019t act on his behalf. It\u2019s been very hopeless.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bennett, who met Aly at a convention more than a decade ago, has spoken to him periodically and described Aly\u2019s hopes of reuniting with his loved ones and returning to his life.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou would think he\u2019d be very down about the situation, and while it\u2019s obvious that he is, the hopeful aspect of him is what really came through,\u201d Bennett said.<\/p>\n

Amid the despair, Aly found allies on the outside, who along with friends in Orlando are working to raise awareness of his case along with the plight of others housed at Moshannon. Barfield said Aly has reported blood in his urine among other symptoms, and was placed on a low-sodium renal diet for his condition.<\/p>\n

But Aly\u2019s treatment had not been treated until the diagnosis was confirmed by a nephrologist in March, Barfield said. He has since seen an outside doctor several times.<\/p>\n

\u201cHis medical condition worsens,\u201d Barfield said. \u201cAnd the medical care he gets from the medical center at Moshannon is just cursory at best and is, in my opinion, mostly just maintaining a life and not really treating the condition.\u201d<\/p>\n

News outlets have reported squalid conditions at the facility, from sub-standard medical care to reports of malnourishment among detainees culminating in a hunger strike that ended with its alleged leader being punished. Those reports have been denied by the Department of Homeland Security.<\/p>\n

Indivisible Mayday and Indivisible Outcry, two activist organizations in central Pennsylvania, have staged protests outside of Moshannon while demanding officials in Clearfield County cut ties with GEO Group, the private prison company that runs the facility. The most recent protest took place Saturday as two dozen demonstrators, many of whom carrying \u201cFree Izzy\u201d placards, called for the Moshannon\u2019s closure.<\/p>\n

Kali McLaughlin, cofounder of Indivisible Outcry, said she has tried to visit Aly after being contacted by his friends in Orlando and hopes to do so again this week.<\/p>\n

\u201cIzzy is as American as anybody else, with so many community ties and friend groups and with his interests and everything,\u201d McLaughlin said. \u201cIt\u2019s infuriating that people are really making the effort to \u2018do everything right\u2019 like everybody wants them to do, and it still doesn\u2019t matter.\u201d<\/p>\n

In addition to local activism, Aly\u2019s case caught the eye of the Libertarian Party, the third-largest political party in the U.S., which in April passed a resolution supporting him and others they deem \u201cpolitical captives\u201d detained by ICE.<\/p>\n

Despite the support, his friends fear the worst as his health declines.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s still not free yet,\u201d Bennett said. \u201cWill he be freed? Will he die from neglect?\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more Meet 4Roots Farm\u2019s new senior culinary director: Hari Pulapaka<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Aly, a 40-year-old green card applicant and a former University of Central Florida student, was arrested Dec. 23 after arriving at Philadelphia International Airport and turned over to ICE, which sent him to the Moshannon Valley Processing Center in central Penn.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3436,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,13],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3437","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-crime-and-public-safety","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\n\u2018Free Izzy\u2019: Orlando resident fights for release from ICE detention in Pennsylvania - Orlando Relocation Report<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=3437\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"\u2018Free Izzy\u2019: Orlando resident fights for release from ICE detention in Pennsylvania - Orlando Relocation Report\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Aly, a 40-year-old green card applicant and a former University of Central Florida student, was arrested Dec. 23 after arriving at Philadelphia International Airport and turned over to ICE, which sent him to the Moshannon Valley Processing Center in central Penn.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=3437\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Orlando Relocation Report\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-06-09T19:34:32+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"6 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/?p=3437#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/?p=3437\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/47d95744296542489ff5c4bd403450f8\"},\"headline\":\"\u2018Free Izzy\u2019: Orlando resident fights for release from ICE detention in Pennsylvania\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-09T19:34:32+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/?p=3437\"},\"wordCount\":1213,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/?p=3437#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/637720dbfd51200eeb43ea9c4d68b8db.webp\",\"articleSection\":[\"Crime and Public Safety\",\"News\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/?p=3437#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/?p=3437\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/?p=3437\",\"name\":\"\u2018Free Izzy\u2019: Orlando resident fights for release from ICE detention in Pennsylvania - Orlando Relocation Report\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/?p=3437#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/?p=3437#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/637720dbfd51200eeb43ea9c4d68b8db.webp\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-09T19:34:32+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/47d95744296542489ff5c4bd403450f8\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/?p=3437#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/?p=3437\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/?p=3437#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/637720dbfd51200eeb43ea9c4d68b8db.webp\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/637720dbfd51200eeb43ea9c4d68b8db.webp\",\"width\":864,\"height\":578},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/?p=3437#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"\u2018Free Izzy\u2019: Orlando resident fights for release from ICE detention in Pennsylvania\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"Orlando Relocation Report\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/47d95744296542489ff5c4bd403450f8\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"\u2018Free Izzy\u2019: Orlando resident fights for release from ICE detention in Pennsylvania - Orlando Relocation Report","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=3437","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"\u2018Free Izzy\u2019: Orlando resident fights for release from ICE detention in Pennsylvania - Orlando Relocation Report","og_description":"Aly, a 40-year-old green card applicant and a former University of Central Florida student, was arrested Dec. 23 after arriving at Philadelphia International Airport and turned over to ICE, which sent him to the Moshannon Valley Processing Center in central Penn.","og_url":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=3437","og_site_name":"Orlando Relocation Report","article_published_time":"2026-06-09T19:34:32+00:00","author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"6 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=3437#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=3437"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/#\/schema\/person\/47d95744296542489ff5c4bd403450f8"},"headline":"\u2018Free Izzy\u2019: Orlando resident fights for release from ICE detention in Pennsylvania","datePublished":"2026-06-09T19:34:32+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=3437"},"wordCount":1213,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=3437#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/637720dbfd51200eeb43ea9c4d68b8db.webp","articleSection":["Crime and Public Safety","News"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=3437#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=3437","url":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=3437","name":"\u2018Free Izzy\u2019: Orlando resident fights for release from ICE detention in Pennsylvania - Orlando Relocation Report","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=3437#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=3437#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/637720dbfd51200eeb43ea9c4d68b8db.webp","datePublished":"2026-06-09T19:34:32+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/#\/schema\/person\/47d95744296542489ff5c4bd403450f8"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=3437#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=3437"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=3437#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/637720dbfd51200eeb43ea9c4d68b8db.webp","contentUrl":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/637720dbfd51200eeb43ea9c4d68b8db.webp","width":864,"height":578},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=3437#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"\u2018Free Izzy\u2019: Orlando resident fights for release from ICE detention in Pennsylvania"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/","name":"Orlando Relocation Report","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/#\/schema\/person\/47d95744296542489ff5c4bd403450f8","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com"],"url":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3437","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3437"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3437\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/3436"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3437"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3437"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3437"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}