Memphis Business Academy student remains in ICE custody as Tennessee lawmaker pushes for answers and access
Student’s detention after traffic stop draws attention from state officials and classmates
A Memphis Business Academy student remained in federal immigration custody in March 2026, as a Tennessee state lawmaker sought to monitor his welfare and pressed for clarity about the enforcement actions that led to his detention.
The student, identified by his family and public officials as Yassar Jose Lopez Soza, is 18 and a junior at the Frayser school. He was detained after a Feb. 20 traffic stop involving a vehicle carrying students traveling to a soccer game. Family counsel has said the stop began as a traffic violation. While other students in the vehicle were released, Lopez Soza was taken into custody by federal immigration authorities and transferred to a detention facility in Mason, Tennessee.
Where he is being held
Lopez Soza has been held at the West Tennessee Detention Facility in Mason, roughly 40 miles northeast of Memphis. The facility, operated by private prison company CoreCivic under agreements involving federal immigration authorities and local government, resumed holding immigration detainees after being idle for several years. The reopening was approved in August 2025, and detainees began arriving in September 2025.
Legislative oversight visit and local response
State Rep. Gabby Salinas, a Memphis Democrat, visited Lopez Soza in custody in early March. Salinas has described the case as emblematic of wider immigration-enforcement activity affecting Memphis residents and has called for accountability regarding how arrests are initiated and processed.
At Memphis Business Academy, the detention prompted student organizing and on-campus protest activity. Students staged a walkout in late February, demonstrating in support of their classmate and his family. Organizers and participants described the action as a response to a classmate’s sudden removal from school life and extracurricular activities, particularly the soccer season.
Institutional constraints and unanswered questions
Memphis-Shelby County Schools officials have indicated they would not comment on the detention because it occurred off campus. Federal immigration authorities did not provide a public response to questions submitted by multiple news organizations during the period when the case became public.
The student’s custody status has remained unresolved in public reporting through mid-March 2026.
The detention intersects with broader debates about immigration enforcement tied to traffic stops and interagency cooperation.
Separately, legal disputes nationwide have challenged how bond access and detention determinations are handled for people held in immigration custody.
In custody cases involving students, lawmakers and advocates often focus on access to counsel, conditions of confinement, and the availability of education and family contact while immigration proceedings move forward.
For Lopez Soza’s school community, the immediate impact has been tangible: a student and teammate removed from daily classes and sports, and a family facing the uncertainty of immigration detention while seeking legal pathways to secure his release.