RICHMOND, Texas – The family of a longtime Richmond resident who has spent nearly three months in federal immigration custody is asking why he cannot be released under supervision while his immigration case continues.
Innocent Rutahagara Batamula, 59, is currently being held at an immigration detention facility in Mississippi after being taken into U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody in July.
His family says they are not asking immigration authorities to end the proceedings against him. Instead, they want Batamula returned to Texas under conditions such as an ankle monitor or other form of supervision.
“We are open for him to be released on bond. Supervised bond, it’s okay, doesn’t matter,” close family friend Vincent Muniu said.
Batamula’s family says his detention has left a significant hole in a life he spent decades building in the Houston area, where they say he supports his family and operates several businesses.
Arrest in Harris County led to ICE custody
Batamula’s most recent encounter with law enforcement began in early July.
Harris County court records show he was arrested July 2 for having false emissions inspections. That charge was later dismissed.
But Batamula did not return home after leaving local custody.
ICE records state that Batamula “was released from Harris County Jail into ICE custody on July 3, 2026.” The same record says he was taken to the Montgomery Processing Center in Conroe.
His family said Batamula was subsequently transferred out of Texas to a detention facility in Mississippi, hundreds of miles from his home and family.
KPRC 2 has asked ICE why Batamula was transferred to Mississippi and why he remains detained.
Family points to years of ICE check-ins
Muniu and Batamula’s family said his detention was particularly surprising because they say he had routinely reported to immigration authorities for years.
“About a month and a half before that arrest, he had just reported to the ICE office’s routine annual checkup or check-in,” Muniu said.
His family says Batamula had been complying with those check-ins for approximately 14 years.
Batamula has a lengthy immigration history
ICE records show Batamula, a citizen of Tanzania, entered the United States as an F-1 student in 2001. The records state he later failed to maintain his nonimmigrant status.
His immigration history since then has included numerous applications and proceedings.
In 2011, Batamula was convicted in federal court under a statute covering false statements in passport applications. ICE records state he was sentenced to 246 days in prison and 12 months of supervised release.
An immigration judge ordered Batamula removed in 2012, and the Board of Immigration Appeals denied his appeal and ordered his removal to Tanzania in 2013, according to ICE’s account of his immigration history.
But the case did not end there.
The records show Batamula continued pursuing immigration relief through a series of applications and motions. Most recently, an immigration judge granted a motion to reopen his immigration case on Nov. 12, 2025. ICE records also list an I-130 Petition for Alien Relative filed in May 2025 as pending at the time the record was prepared.
Family asks: Why not supervised release again?
Batamula’s family is now pointing to another part of his immigration history as they push for his release.
ICE records show that on Sept. 18, 2013, Batamula was served with an I-220B Order of Supervision and released from ICE custody that same day.
His family is asking immigration authorities to consider a similar arrangement now.
“He’s trying to adjust status. He’s trying to be here,” his son Frank Batamula said. “You already did that with the supervised release, so why not grant that?”
The family said they would accept electronic monitoring or other restrictions if it allowed Batamula to return home while his immigration proceedings continue.
Family says detention is taking a toll
Beyond his immigration case, Batamula’s relatives say his absence is affecting the family financially.
Muniu said Batamula earns his living through several businesses that depend heavily on his day-to-day involvement.
“He’s not making any income,” Muniu said. “His work involves every day getting into the office, getting the clientele, and doing the work for them.”
His family describes Batamula as its primary breadwinner and says his wife has also been dealing with health problems during his detention.
For his family, the request is not that the government abandon its immigration case against Batamula.
They want him allowed to continue fighting that case from home.
“We just wanna make sure that he’s able to go about his everyday business, take care of his family and do what he does best,” Muniu said.
ICE released the following statement:
Innocent Batamula, a 59-year-old criminal illegal alien from Tanzania, was ordered removed from the United States by an immigration judge on Sept. 19, 2012. His appeal of that decision to the Board of Immigration Appeals was dismissed Feb. 19, 2013. For the past 16 years he has remained in the U.S. illegally to appeal those decisions and once again his case was dismissed by an immigration judge on Aug. 21, 2026, to reenter his order of removal.
While in the U.S. illegally, Batamula has been convicted of making a false statement in connection with an application for a passport and is currently charged with a submitting a fraudulent emissions inspection.
A petition for alien relative (I-130) DOES NOT confer any form of lawful status in the United States and DOES NOT prevent ICE from arresting or removing individuals who are in the U.S. illegally.
To accommodate various operational demands, ICE routinely transfers detainees within its detention network based on available resources and the needs of the agency.
