Kelly Yu, a woman who owns two sushi restaurants in Glendale and Peoria, has been released from ICE custody after being detained in May 2025. She was reportedly held at the Eloy Detention Center in Arizona.
Following her release from ICE custody, Yu spoke to Fox 10 and shared her relief at being free after eight and a half months in detention.
“I’m so happy to be out. I’m so happy to be able to [reunite] with my family. Thank you so much for the help and care that everyone been sending to me. Thank you so much to everyone,” she told the outlet.
Kelly Yu is home pic.twitter.com/ZcKEhqLSe8
— Patriotnheels 🇺🇸👠 (@patriotnheels) February 21, 2026
According to the publication, the restaurant owner was released from ICE custody when her attorneys filed a habeas corpus petition, arguing that her detention in May last year by the government was unlawful.
“I hope that (someone) can help me in the future that can change my status in the United States. We crossed the border. We didn’t do anything wrong in the country. We just want to have a better life, pay our taxes,” Yu added.
However, she still has to wear an “ankle monitor, can’t travel more than 75 miles and will continue to check in with the courts,” the outlet further reported.
“They say they’re only after criminals, and that’s not true. We’re not criminals,” said Yu.
Kelly Yu, who runs the sushi restaurants called “Kawaii Sushi and Asian Cuisine” with her American husband in the West Valley, fled China 20 years ago when she was just 18 and pregnant and came to the United States.
According to her remarks cited by KPNX in July 2025, she feared the country’s former one-child policy, which prompted her to seek asylum in the U.S. She crossed the southern border in 2004.
“We didn’t do anything wrong. We’re not criminals,” said Yu in a video interview from the detention center, cited by the outlet.
She also revealed that she tried to get citizenship, “But because I crossed the border, we have to win the case in order to qualify.”
“They say they’re only after criminals, and that’s not true,” Kelly Yu said. “We’re not criminals.” https://t.co/asCQiDvkLq
— FOX 10 Phoenix (@FOX10Phoenix) February 21, 2026
As per the outlet, Yu’s asylum case was denied, with a federal immigration judge ordering her removal in 2005.
“I’m a provider in our family. I’m a caretaker for my daughter, my husband, my mom. Taking me away from them is very difficult,” said Yu at the time.
The woman was detained by ICE while she was attending a meeting with immigration officials in May. Recalling the incident, Aldo stated, “As soon as we go in, a minute later, they open the doors, and then Kelly calls me and they just cuff her right in front of us. Just take her, just, just a simple goodbye. I couldn’t even touch her.”
The aforementioned outlets also noted that Yu’s restaurant employs over 30 people, and is often involved in charitable causes, such as donating to local police and fire organisations, high school baseball teams, and donating meals to local homeless shelters.
“She gives back to the community, creates jobs for young people, pays taxes. Why would you want to remove someone like that?” asked Aldo.
At the time, Yu’s husband, also shared his distress about his wife being detained by ICE. “Every single day, someone asks us how she’s doing or where she is. It’s very painful,” he said.
Kelly Yu’s daughter is also a U.S. citizen.
