My name is Joshua. I’m a retired member of the U.S. military, and for more than twenty years I served in an institution built on discipline, order, and respect for the rule of law. Because of that background, I have always believed deeply that systems like our courts and our immigration system ultimately work the way they are supposed to. I assumed that when someone ended up detained in immigration custody, it was because they had broken the law or were trying to take advantage of the system.
 

I believed that until I met Armande.

Armande is the kind of person you might meet and instantly realize how extraordinary she is. She carries the light of Jesus Christ within her and shares His good news whenever she has the opportunity. She is incredibly kind, thoughtful, and deeply faithful -the kind of person who shows up early to help, who listens more than she speaks, and who treats everyone around her with genuine respect and kindness.

She carries herself with humility and grace, but she is also one of the strongest people I know. She overcame tremendous adversity and danger to come here and begin a life she was so happy and hopeful to start.

Armande is highly structured and disciplined. She works out every day and is an avid runner. In fact, she runs three to six miles daily-she truly loves it. She is also a personal trainer and a choir member at First Baptist Church in O’Fallon.

She works hard. She worked her way up from nothing, holding multiple jobs along the way, until earning a respected position at a company that values and supports her. She pays taxes, contributes to her community, and takes responsibility seriously. She is the type of person who does what she says she will do. People trust her because she has proven herself to be trustworthy.

Just look at the network around her. So many people love and care deeply for this incredible woman.

But what stands out most about Armande is her faith.

Faith is not just something she talks about-it shapes the way she lives. She prays regularly, attends church faithfully, and finds strength in Scripture. For her, faith is not a public performance; it is a deeply personal relationship with God that guides how she treats other people.

I have watched her encourage people who were struggling, speak gently when others were frustrated, and show compassion in situations where it would have been easier to walk away. Even now, while detained in a county jail, she continues to live out that faith by holding Bible studies and witnessing to other women who are also going through difficult circumstances.

If you met her at a grocery store, at church, or at work, you would simply see someone trying to live a good life and contribute to the community around her.

Like many people pursuing a better and safer future, Armande came to the United States hoping for stability and opportunity. She has worked, built relationships, and tried to follow the rules placed in front of her. She has cooperated with the legal process and done her best to comply with every requirement asked of her.

That is why what happened next was so shocking.

Earlier this year, I personally drove Armande to what was supposed to be a routine immigration check-in. These appointments were something she had been attending as part of her ongoing immigration process. There was nothing unusual about that day.

But this time, she did not come home.

She went into the office for her appointment, and shortly after I received a message from her that simply said, “I’m being detained.”

An officer later returned her personal belongings to me. And just like that, she was gone.

The Armande I know does not fit the picture that many people imagine when they think about immigration detention. She is not someone trying to evade the law. She has no criminal background. She was simply trying to live honestly while navigating a complicated legal process.

She went to a check-in appointment-with me driving her there-and now she is gone.

I didn’t think it was possible that someone like her could simply be taken away like that.

Seeing this happen to someone I know personally has changed the way I understand situations like this.

Many people-like I once did-assume that if someone ends up detained, there must be more to the story. That assumption is easy to hold when the people involved are strangers or statistics.

But Armande is not a statistic.

She is a person.
She is a friend.
She is a woman of deep faith who is now facing one of the most difficult moments of her life.

What she needs right now is support-from her community, from people who believe in fairness and compassion, and from those who believe every person deserves to be seen and heard.

Her legal team continues to work on her case, and those efforts require resources and support. At the same time, Armande continues to lean on the faith that has guided her life for so many years.

Those of us who know her are standing with her during this time.

And we are asking others to stand with her too.