Jacob Ira Azurin Vijandre was born in the Philippines and was lawfully admitted to the United States in 2001, when his parents brought him to the United States at age 14 on his father’s H-4 non-immigrant visa.
Vijandre is a photojournalist, videographer, practicing Muslim, and Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (“DACA”) recipient who has lived in the U.S. for 24 years, including 12 with DACA. Since moving to the Dallas, Texas, area in or about 2022, he has played a prominent role in documenting the local pro-Palestinian protest movement, drawing attention to conditions at prisons and immigration detention facilities.
On the morning of October 7, 2025, ICE agents arrested Vijandre at gunpoint outside his home in Arlington, Texas.
This is despite his having no criminal record in any country.
Vijandre has been a regular presence at political meetings, conferences, and public demonstrations in the Dallas area and throughout the United States, in particular at events in support of the people of Palestine and opposing conditions of confinement for immigrant detainees and individuals prosecuted by the government in the “War on Terror.”
Beyond his own ties to the USA, his family has long served his adopted country: his great-grandfather and great-uncle were awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor for their service in the U.S. military in the Philippines during World War II.
Curiously, on or about November 30, 2023, agents from DHS and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”) approached Mr. Vijandre and indicated they wanted to recruit him as a confidential informant. During this interaction, an FBI officer told Mr. Vijandre he is “a poster child for the way you’re supposed to do it,” an apparent reference to Mr. Vijandre’s immigration status. Mr. Vijandre declined the offer.
ICE Caged This Man For His Instagram Posts And Likes
The above article details the U.S. government’s purported reasons for detaining Yaa’kub Ira Vijandre.
Excerpts are from the following:
documentcloud.org/documents/26222582-21-0-amended-habeas-petition
