Indian Jazz Guitarist Pritesh Walia Arrested at LAX and Held in ICE Detention

BySunita Sohrabji

Rising star Pritesh Walia, an Indian jazz guitarist, was arrested at Los Angeles Airport Aug. 2 and is being held in custody at the Adelanto Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Southern California.

Born in New Delhi, Walia has lived in the US since 2019 on an O1B visa, a temporary U.S. work visa for individuals with extraordinary ability in the arts, including music, films, or television. It is initially granted for three years, and can be extended a year at a time for a maximum of 3 years.

An ICE spokesperson at the field office in Los Angeles told American Community Media via email that Walia had overstayed his temporary visa. “ICE officers from Los Angeles arrested Mr. Pritesh Walia for failing to meet the requirements of his nonimmigrant status,” said the spokesperson.

ICE Statement: ‘Self Deport’

“Mr. Pritesh first arrived in the U.S. in January 2019 and was required to depart by August 2025. Mr. Walia will be accorded full due process and will remain in detention pending immigration procedures. Detention is a choice, and ICE encourages all illegal immigrants to voluntarily remove themselves without delay,” added the spokesperson.

“The whole idea of someone who poses no threat to the US but is grabbed at the LA airport and taken to detention is utter nonsense,” Brad Rabuchin, Walia’s former teacher at the Musician’s Institute in Los Angeles, told American Community Media. “ICE is not following the laws of our country,” he added.

“When you see injustice happening, you think: ‘well, it’s not happening to me.’ But this is getting closer and closer. We can’t just sit by the sidelines,” said Rabuchin.

The instructor, himself a jazz guitarist, has worked with promising musicians to get O1B visas. He said the process is becoming much more difficult. “There are so many more hoops and expenses.”

“This administration has done everything to keep talented people out, even when it’s an obvious advantage to have artistic people here, who lend a depth to our culture,” said Rabuchin.

Adelanto

The Adelanto ICE processing center, operated by the private prison company GEO Group, has been the focus of numerous complaints and lawsuits. Four detainees have died at the facility since the beginning on 2026.

The facility has been in the news recently for providing drinking water contaminated with worms, even after a federal judge ordered major changes at the facility, for failure to provide “clean drinking water, nutritious meals, sanitation, access to medical care and medicine, as well as medical intake screening upon arrival at the facility.”

In 2023, Walia was struck with a severe case of vertigo. “He woke up and just couldn’t see. His balance just gave out,” saxophonist Joey Rosin, Walia’s dear friend, told ACoM.

The guitarist underwent a series of tests and was diagnosed with Persistent Postural Perceptual Dizziness (PPPD), Idiopathic Intracranial Hypertension (IIH), and chronic vestibular migraines. These conditions have caused him to experience constant vertigo, dissociation, oscillopsia, blurry vision, and balance issues, leaving him feeling nonfunctional, noted Rosin in a GoFundMe in 2023. The only course of treatment is aggressive physical therapy, cognitive-behavioral therapy, and a carefully balanced regimen of medications, he wrote.

“I am worried about Pritesh’s stay at an ICE facility. It gives me chills to think about it,” Rosin told ACoM, adding he was uncertain his friend was getting the care he needs for his chronic conditions. Sleep is a must for Walia’s health, but the fluorescent lighting at the detention center may prevent Walia from sleeping, worsening his conditions, he said.

‘Forcing myself to keep living life’

ICE media did not respond to ACoM’s questions about Walia’s treatment at Adelanto.

In an interview with Bold magazine in 2024, Walia said: “My condition hasn’t improved. I’ve just had to force myself to keep living my life. I slowly started picking up the guitar again, playing for fun and finding the love I had for my instrument. My playing is different now, not better or worse, but different. Despite my condition, I push.”

Rosin has not been able to speak to Walia in detention, but said that Walia’s girlfriend Liza and his uncle have been able to get in touch with him. Liza made an Aug. 9 Instagram post about Walia’s detention.

‘Meteoric rise’

Walia began intensive training in Indian classical music at the age of 13. He then picked up the guitar at the age of 16. He moved to the US to pursue higher education and received his Associate’s degree from the Musician’s Institute in L.A., a Bachelor’s degree from Berklee College of Music, and a Master’s degree from the New England Conservatory, where he met Rosin.

“Pritesh’s rise has been meteoric,” Rosin told ACoM. “He pursues music like his life depends on it. He is one of the hardest working people I have ever met.”

Walia’s newest album, “Journey to Nowhere,” is being released this month. The new work also features a 27-piece ensemble, with soloists such as pianist and keyboardist Aaron Parks, Henry Godfrey — who plays the drums and conducts the orchestra.

”Pritesh’s sound and spirit have touched so many people. He has helped other people find their sounds,” said Rosin. He comes from Noida — outside Delhi — but has made his life in the US, assimilating into this country.”

“It is surreal that Pritesh was abducted. And it is imperative that he is released,” said Rosin.