The arrest of 38-year-old Muslim Filipino photojournalist Ya’akub Ira Vijandre by ICE has sparked a conversation about the state of free speech in America. He is known for capturing stories that shed light on human rights abuses. Sam Judy, his friend and fellow journalist, wrote for The Barbed Wire, revealing more about Vijandre’s work and his arrest.
Judy writes that he met Ya’akub during the Dallas protest over Israel’s siege of Gaza. At that time, the photojournalist already had a good social media presence, and he was gathering content for it. “Ya’akub is a great photographer; I usually ask him for pointers,” says Judy.
Describing his personality, the author writes, “Ya’akub is a relatively short 38-year-old guy with massive energy. This isn’t to say that he’s loud or domineering. In fact, he’s quiet, considerate, honorable, genuine, and respectful. What makes Ya’akub’s presence feel large is a sense of substance — a weight of purpose.”
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His childhood made him lean towards being a human rights advocate, in addition to being a photojournalist. Ya’akub, who was born as Jacob Ira Azurin Vijandre, moved to the United States in 2001 under his father’s H-4 immigrant visa when he was 14 years old. In 2013, he was granted protection under Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals.
According to the statement from his attorneys, he was ambushed by six vehicles outside his home on October 7, when he was leaving for work. A group of armed ICE agents approached him just outside his home in Arlington. Ya’akub himself explained that the officers put a handgun to his face and then took him into custody.
Judy claims that the photojournalist did not receive any judicial warrant and was arrested directly before being taken to Bluebonnet Detention Facility near Fort Worth. However, his arrest is interesting, given that he has not been taken into custody for breaking immigration law.
Statement by all of us on legal team representing photojournalist & prominent pro-Palestinian activist Yaakub Vijandre, arrested by ICE on Oct 7, DACA revoked for social media posts. Detained for 3 weeks & counting.
Test case for Trump’s expanding definition of terrorism:
1/4 pic.twitter.com/8JzcBXZ7ha
— Eric Lee (@EricLeeAtty) October 21, 2025
His lawyers confirmed that his DACA protection is still valid until May 2026. So, why was he arrested? According to Judy, the Trump administration accused Ya’akub of “glorifying terrorism” in their social media posts. According to a court filing from last week, a day before he was arrested, the photojournalist attended a city council meeting in Dallas. He spoke out in support of a community leader, who ICE detained, and he also recorded the whole thing.
Following his arrest, a notice of intent to terminate his DACA status dated September 22 was found in his mailbox. The notice, which was issued by the Department of Homeland Security, alleges that he backed “organizations and individuals who are known to engage in acts of terrorism.” It also claims that this “presents public safety, national security concerns, and is a significant negative discretionary factor under the totality of the circumstances analysis,” according to the filing by his legal team.
The DHS has also issued a statement saying that Ya’akub “was a subject of interest in the Dallas Joint Terrorism Task Force following social media posts glorifying terrorism.” His attorneys have filed a habeas petition, which states, “What Respondents characterize as support for terrorism actually consists of opposing perceived violation of detainee rights, including at black site prisons like Guantanamo Bay and Bagram Air Force Base.”
“Equating such speech to ‘terrorism’ to justify detention would risk criminalizing a broad array of protected speech critical of U.S. government policy engaged in by citizens and non-citizens alike.”
