Gabriel Johnson's Family Finds Liberian Immigrant Partially Paralyzed After Stroke in ICE Custody

Gabriel Johnson's family traveled hundreds of miles to Texas to see what had become of the North Carolina pastor after he suffered a stroke in ICE custody. When they were finally allowed to spend about an hour with him, the 55-year-old husband and father remained paralyzed on one side of his body and faced a long road toward recovery.

Johnson, a Liberian immigrant whose family says he has lived legally in the United States since he was 15, was taken into ICE custody from his family's home in Cary, North Carolina, on July 15. He was moved through detention facilities in several states before arriving in Texas, where his family says he suffered the stroke on July 30.

Reaching Johnson after his hospitalization proved difficult, with family members struggling to gain access to him in Texas. After spending hours trying to see him, they were eventually permitted to visit for roughly one hour.

Recovery could be extensive for Johnson after the stroke, according to his family, which is seeking access to rehabilitation and continued medical care. They are also pressing for answers about the treatment he received before becoming seriously ill.

A history of high blood pressure and minor strokes dating back to 2020 made consistent medical care especially important for the 55-year-old, according to his family. His daughter, Gabri Johnson, said her father repeatedly told relatives while detained that he was not consistently receiving his prescribed medication and lacked adequate access to food and water.

Those complaints became more urgent while Johnson was held at Stewart Detention Center in Georgia, where his family says he told them he was growing weaker. His relatives allege the conditions contributed to his declining health, although no public medical finding has established what caused his July 30 stroke.

Beyond his detention, Johnson had built a life in North Carolina as an ordained pastor, husband and father of four. He is also a graduate of North Carolina Central University, a historically Black university in Durham.

The family says Johnson was initially detained over what they were told was a misunderstanding involving a missed immigration appointment. They later learned immigration officials were seeking his removal from the United States, according to Gabri Johnson.

Johnson's children sought an emergency stay of removal while trying to secure medical treatment and rehabilitation for their father. Before the stroke, Johnson was transferred from North Carolina to Georgia and eventually to the Prairieland Detention Center in Alvarado, Texas.

ICE did not immediately respond to questions from WRAL about Johnson's detention or his family's allegations that he was denied adequate access to medication, food and water. U.S. Rep. Valerie Foushee's office said it was working with the family and congressional colleagues in Texas in an effort to bring Johnson home.

Getting Johnson out of detention and into rehabilitation has become the family's immediate priority while he remains partially paralyzed. They also want answers about what happened during the two weeks between his arrest in Cary and the stroke that left him hospitalized far from home in North Carolina.