After being released from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody, social media activist Melissa Atwell Holder, popularly known as “Melly Mel” made a defiant statement answering inquiries about her confinement and potential future involvement.
She began by thanking everyone who helped her during this time, including those who sent messages, made financial contributions, and participated in social media conversations, highlighting the tremendous support from the “592 Comment Association”, admitting that the flood of support moved her to tears.
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Reaffirming her belief in the American system, Atwell Holder said that the US is the finest country in the world for those who support human rights. She praised American institutions for their robustness, saying they are still strong and functional.
Her imprisonment clearly disproves any claims linking her to criminal activities, Atwell Holder said in response to rumors over her legal status. She emphasized that U.S. officials had investigated her past in detail and had not discovered any indication of misconduct, demonstrating that she is still a law-abiding human rights advocate with a spotless record.
When asked how this experience has affected her advocacy, she stated unequivocally that she has no plans to back down. Rather, she stated that her work is only getting started and that the Guyana government’s actions have unintentionally increased her platform. She said that worldwide organizations supported her while she was in custody and have since extended special membership, resources, and services to help her advocate for causes. She disclosed that throughout her incarceration, she had strengthened her projects and created new websites.
Atwell Holder thanked the Government of Guyana, albeit sarcastically, for helping to bring her to a worldwide audience, saying that their actions had enabled her to reveal alleged corruption on a never-before-seen scale. In response to questions regarding her sources, she promised that her phone was always with her and that no sources had been compromised.
When Atwell Holder reflected on her time in jail, she revealed that she had met human rights advocates from all over the world, including those from Venezuela and Congo. She claimed that she gained insightful knowledge from these encounters that she will apply to her upcoming advocacy efforts.
Furthermore, because of her vocal criticism of the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) administration and the resulting political turmoil, her case has garnered noteworthy attention. Her family had appealed for public support on her Facebook page after her arrest, acknowledging her confinement.
In Guyana, Atwell Holder has been a divisive personality who regularly criticizes the PPP/C administration. Due to her social media posts and claims, she has been the target of libel cases and other legal actions because of her advocacy.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) apprehended Atwell Holder on March 27th for overstaying his visa; Immigration Judge Francis Mwangi granted him bail.
Atwell Holder participated virtually from an ICE detention facility in Louisiana, and her lawyer, Joyce Booth, did the same. Noting that Atwell Holder has been married to a U.S. citizen for two years, Booth informed the court that she did not know why her client was being held. According to her, her client sought a change of status after entering the country on a visa. Atwell Holder presently has a pending I-485 application for status adjustment and an accepted I-130 petition.
Kieone Cochran, a representative from the Office of the Principal Legal Advisor, cited a visa overstay as the grounds for ICE’s custody when Judge Mwangi questioned the justification. Booth maintained that her client had applied for a status adjustment in September 2023 following the correct legal processes. Atwell Holder does not present a flight risk and has no criminal past, she underlined.
Judge Mwangi set a deadline of April 18, 2025, for Booth to turn in copies of the I-130 and I-485 forms and awarded bail of US$7,500.
