John Bol Ajak

Synopsis

John Bol Ajak, a former Syracuse University basketball player, was taken into U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody on February 18, 2026, after being released from local jail on pretrial release, according to reporting by syracuse.com | The Post-Standard and follow-on coverage. News reports said he was held at the Moshannon Valley Processing Center, an ICE facility in Pennsylvania, after earlier detention at the Buffalo Federal Detention Facility in Batavia was also mentioned in local reporting. According to Syracuse.com, Ajak agreed to a deportation order during a virtual hearing before an immigration judge in the Elizabeth Immigration Court in New Jersey in early April 2026, after more than a month in ICE custody. Reporting cited the Department of Homeland Security as establishing that he had overstayed his student visa following his graduation in 2023. Ajak told the court he wanted to leave the United States as quickly as possible and return to family in South Sudan; he was quoted as saying that under the circumstances he did not wish to return to the U.S. Prior to ICE custody, news outlets reported multiple local arrests in Syracuse on charges including trespassing, disorderly conduct, and resisting arrest. Syracuse.com noted he had represented himself at the immigration hearing. This profile summarizes published reporting; timelines and legal outcomes may change.

Key takeaways

From court records, news reporting, and linked sources below.

  1. John Bol Ajak played center for Syracuse men's basketball from 2020 to 2023 and graduated from the Newhouse School in December 2023, according to Syracuse.com.
  2. Reporting states ICE took him into custody on February 18, 2026, and that he was held at Moshannon Valley Processing Center in Pennsylvania.
  3. Syracuse.com reported he agreed to a deportation order in early April 2026 after more than five weeks in ICE custody, following a virtual immigration court hearing in New Jersey.
  4. News coverage tied his case to an expired student visa after graduation and to prior local arrests in Syracuse.

Reference links

Related

Detention facility

Moshannon Valley Processing Center→

← Back to Detainee Profiles