Артур Сенько в аэропорту Нью-Йорка после освобождения
A court has denied the deportation of democracy activist Artur Senko to Belarus and granted him political asylum.
The hearing took place in the state of New Mexico at the Cibola County Correctional Center, a facility partly used by ICE to detain migrants, presided over by Judge Samuel Williams.
“Shortly before my detention in an immigration prison, my close friend Yauhen Zhdanovich founded the BYACTION.ORG initiative to assist asylum seekers from Belarus in the United States. Ironically, I became the first person to fall under its care. My trial was held in New Mexico, at the Cibola County Correctional Center, a prison partly used by ICE to detain migrants.
We managed to secure a decisive victory in one of the most difficult jurisdictions for asylum seekers — the Tenth Circuit — during an extremely unfavorable period for immigrants. The reason I am safe and free again lies largely in the enormous support of many people.
I am infinitely grateful to Syarhei Tsikhanouski, Alyaksandr Atroshchankau, Andrei Hnyot, and Anna Matsiyeuskaya for fighting for me until the very last minute before the decision was announced. I am thankful to the human rights organizations Human Constanta, Viasna, Legal Initiative, and Memorial for their legal analysis.
I am grateful to the Office of Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, the People’s Anti-Crisis Management, the Coordination Council, and the United Transitional Cabinet for their diplomatic efforts. I also thank Reform.news, Zerkalo.io, Euroradio.fm, Nashaniva.com, Gazetaby.com, Svaboda.org, and POLITICO for covering my situation. And of course, I am grateful to the U.S. government for the opportunity of a fair hearing and for granting me protection,” Artur Senko told Reform.news.
Senko had been in custody since August 15. The Belarusian national had been residing legally in the United States. On August 26, 2021, Artur Senko arrived at the Otay Mesa Port of Entry in California, where he declared his fear of persecution and requested political asylum — a procedure provided under the Immigration and Nationality Act. Senko has been on an interstate wanted list in Belarus since at least 2022 under Article 369 of the Belarusian Criminal Code, which covers insulting a public official.
Two days after arriving in the United States, he was released pending further proceedings, with no court date set. He subsequently submitted a written asylum application and, throughout his stay in the country, cooperated with immigration authorities, providing his contact information and address.
On August 15, 2025, he was summoned to the New York office of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Artur Senko appeared with his lawyer. The lawyer’s arguments regarding Senko’s lawful stay in the United States as an asylum seeker were not accepted, and immigration officers refused to review the documents.
Senko was handcuffed and taken into custody. Immigration officials also asked him to sign a statement claiming that the date, place, and circumstances of his entry into the United States were unknown — which he refused to do, arguing that it contradicted the facts. Following the court’s ruling, he was released and is now at home in New York.