Dr. Ann Lawani, 39, was taken from her home on Sept. 16 by federal immigration agents, who placed her in shackles and transported her to a holding facility in Stockton before transferring her to El Paso. Her family reportedly spent days trying to locate her before she called them from a processing center in southern Louisiana. Eight weeks later, she remains in ICE custody at the facility.

Lawani, who holds a valid U.S. work permit and has no reported criminal history, had lived in her Lodi home for 13 years, caring for her 83-year-old father. She previously applied for asylum, but her application was denied in 2013. However, the same judge ruled that she could not be deported to Nigeria because she faced a risk of persecution there.

The Department of Homeland Security, in a statement Wednesday, called Lawani an “illegal alien” arrested during a targeted enforcement operation and said she will remain in ICE custody pending removal from the country. A spokesperson claimed that Lawani legally entered the United States on June 7, 2007, on a temporary basis but overstayed her admittance by failing to depart by July 6, 2007. “To be clear: work authorization does not confer legal status in the U.S.,” the spokesperson said.

Lawani’s detention has prompted calls for her release from students, faculty, and a California congressman, even as the Trump administration says it intends to deport her. The case has drawn attention to the administration’s immigration enforcement practices and the plight of individuals with protected status.

The New York Times first reported the story.