Rudy Alexander Villeda-Mejia (A# 088-367-378) — Documents for Press

Provided by the Shaffer family for verification purposes. Contact: Genaro Shaffer, 360-389-6616, gshaffer123@gmail.com

1. One-page case summary — every fact sourced to a government record or sworn filing
2. 2010 DHS record — "SUBJECT WAS VICTIM OF SMUGGLING TURNED KIDNAPPING" (ICE FOIA 2015-ICFO-55355)
3. FedEx proof of delivery — T visa application delivered to USCIS July 6, 2026, 9:41 AM
4. Rudy's sworn statement — the kidnapping in his own words (10 pp., from the filed T visa application, under penalty of perjury)
5. His wife Mabel's declaration — living with his trauma (June 2026)
6. Sister + father declarations — the 2010 ransom calls, corroborated
7. ICE's own check-in log (I-220) — every check-in, Aug 2018 – Apr 2025
8. BIA decision, March 10, 2026 — the procedural denial (received March 18; see footnote 2)
9. Federal habeas denial, July 1, 2026 — the ruling that removed his last protection
10. Emergency motion for stay of removal, filed July 9, 2026 — now pending in federal district court in Colorado

The lost decade — how long the T visa sat

The T visa is the protection Congress created in 2000 for trafficking victims. Every line below is checkable against the documents above or correspondence the family will provide on request.

• 2010 — DHS's own file records him as a "VICTIM OF SMUGGLING TURNED KIDNAPPING… FEE PAID AND SUBJECT RELEASED" (document 2).
• March 4, 2013 — a Freedom of Information Act request is filed for Rudy's complete government file (request date stated in the response letter — page 1 of document 2).
• May 26, 2015 — the government produces the victim record in response to that request (the cover letter is page 1 of document 2). The family did not receive it until April 23, 2024 — nine years later.
• May 15, 2025 — the first documented mention of a T visa anywhere in the record appears, in a filing to the Board of Immigration Appeals (the Board's own footnote 2, document 8). Ten years after the government produced its victim finding. Fifteen years after the kidnapping.
• August 4, 2025 — completed T visa application forms (Form I-914 and supplements) exist, ready for Rudy's signature, with a $3,500 preparation fee quoted. The application is never filed.
• March 10, 2026 — the Board denies his motion, noting "no evidence has been proffered reflecting that he has filed such an application" (document 8, footnote 2).
• March 30, 2026 — ICE arrests him at a Denver airport gate, on day 20 of his 30-day window to appeal. The application is still unfiled.
• July 3–6, 2026 — the application is finally filed. It reaches USCIS on July 6 at 9:41 AM (document 3) — three days after ICE denied his stay of removal.

Public court records: ICWC v. Noem preliminary injunction · docket