‘Like a dream come true': Man returns home after 258 days in ICE custody

Carlos Della Valle is back home in Chester County after spending 258 days in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody.

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Della Valle returned to Downingtown on Wednesday after being released from a detention center in Louisiana. He said he was moved through 12 different facilities during his time in custody.

“It’s like a dream come true to be back,” Della Valle said.

Della Valle described a lack of information throughout his detention, saying he often couldn’t get answers about his situation.

“Anywhere I went, anytime I asked a question, everybody said, ‘We don’t know,’” he said. “I think that is created to mess with your head because eventually if you can’t get information, you don’t know where you are at, if you don’t know what you’re doing and you eventually give up.”

Despite the uncertainty, Della Valle said he and his family remained determined.

His wife, Angela Della Valle, followed his journey as he was transferred between facilities, including a detention site in Florida sometimes referred to as “Alligator Alcatraz.”

“It’s not like you could ever be prepared for something like this,” she said. “I am so grateful I was able to follow him. It was an honor but I also there is that part of me too that is remembers, recognizes that there are so many women who would have wished to been able to follow their husbands.”

Della Valle was first detained in December 2024 at an airport in St. Thomas while on a family vacation. He is a Mexican national who entered the United States in 1997, saying he fled cartel violence. He was deported and signed a document agreeing not to return but said he never left the U.S.

The Trump administration has repeatedly said it is prioritizing the deportation of “the worst of the worst.” However, data from the Deportation Project shows a shift in who ICE is targeting.

In Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware, during January and February of this year, nearly 65% of people arrested by ICE had no criminal record. That compares to January and February of 2024, when 71% of those arrested had been convicted of a crime.

Della Valle said that reflects his own situation.

“I would love to go back to work and become a productive member of this community, this society which is what I have always done,” he said.

Della Valle must continue reporting to ICE agents regularly.

NBC10 has reached out to ICE several times about his case and has not heard back.

This story was originally reported for broadcast by NBC Philadelphia. AI tools helped convert the story to a digital article, and an NBC Philadelphia journalist edited the article for publication.