US Court grants Melly Mel $7500 bond on immigration matter

Prominent Guyanese activist, Melissa Atwell-Holder aka “Melly Mel” has been ordered released by a US Immigration Judge on the payment of a $7500 bond.

Atwell-Holder appeared before Judge Francis Mwangi this morning via video conference from a Detention Centre in Louisiana, where she has been held since being taken into custody by the Department of Homeland Security two weeks ago.

Dressed in a khaki detention outfit with her hair braided and holding onto a book, the activist entered her name into the system as Melissa Holder.

The Court heard that her appearance was in relation to an accusation of her “overstaying” her time in the US. However, when her Attorney, Joyce Booth, informed the Court that she has been married to a US citizen for the past two years and shares a home with her husband, the Judge questioned the Prosecutor whether the marriage should not have taken over the overstaying issue.

Atwell-Holder’s Attorney informed the Court that an immigrant petition for spouse of a US Citizen has already been approved, but the adjustment of status is pending. In the bond application, the Attorney also informed the Court at Atwell-Holder has no criminal record and no other matter that should prevent her from being granted bond and was not a flight risk.

“She was unexpectedly detained. Approximately two weeks ago, ICE showed up at her door and took her. She lives in Brooklyn, New York. They brought her to Louisiana and that’s where we are. She has no criminal history,” Booth explained.

Counsel for the US Department of Justice, Kieone Cochran, in response, told the Court that the defendant is a visa overstayer. However, she admitted that Atwell-Holder has no criminal record and has no other charge other than the one for overstaying.

It was then that the Judge enquired, whether having married to a US citizen, whether she was not entitled for a waiver for the overstay.

The Court has ordered that Atwell-Holder’s Attorney submits copies of the I-485 application with the Court no later than April 18, 2025.

In hearing the application for bond, the Court heard that Atwell-Holder is not a threat to US national security, nor is she a flight risk.

“She entered the US in 2022. She has been married to a US citizen for the last two years, Mr Paul Holder. They live together in Brooklyn, New York. She has no criminal history, and so your honour, she is not a danger to the community, she is not a national security threat, and she is not a flight risk…,” Booth told the Court.

Booth added: “We don’t know why she was detained; it is still a mystery.”

The Prosecutor agreed with the information saying that it matches the records at her disposal. She did not object to bond and left it up to the Court. At one point, Atwell-Holder’s Attorney said she could not understand why her client was arrested and is before the Court.

The Judge said he was granting bond in the sum of US$7,500 and thereby orders Atwell-Holder’s release on the payment of that bond. Having been informed that she lives in Brooklyn, New York with her husband, the Judge also ordered that the matter be transferred to that district.

The outspoken activist is expected to return to her New York home as early as this evening. Her arrest and detention in the US triggered widespread condemnation in Guyana by many of her supporters and even the political opposition.

The Government of Guyana has been accused of triggering her arrest with its many complaints against her over her social media activism, which has included several serious allegations of corruption against the Government of Guyana.