Federal judge orders immediate release of Memphis high school student detained by ICE
Yasser Jose Lopez Soza, a junior at Memphis Business Academy, was detained by ICE on Feb. 20, 2026. (Image Courtesy of Lopez Soza Family)
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Mississippi River Basin Ag and Water Desk
This story is a product of the Mississippi River Basin Ag & Water Desk, an editorially independent reporting network based at the University of Missouri School of Journalism in partnership with Report For America and funded by the Walton Family Foundation.
The 18-year-old Memphis high school student has been held in ICE detention since his arrest on Feb. 20 on the way to a school soccer game. He said he wishes he were back in his classes at Memphis Business Academy.
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Yasser Jose Lopez SozaIn partnership with
This story is a product of the Mississippi River Basin Ag & Water Desk, an editorially independent reporting network based at the University of Missouri School of Journalism in partnership with Report For America and funded by the Walton Family Foundation.
Bri Hatch
Bri Hatch covers Memphis-Shelby County Schools for Chalkbeat Tennessee. Hatch spent the past two years in Baltimore covering all-things education for WYPR, the city’s local NPR station, as a Report for America Corps Member.
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