Indian Guitarist Pritesh Walia Released from ICE Facility After 2-Week Detention

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Indian Guitarist Pritesh Walia Released from ICE Facility After 2-Week Detention

By DownBeat I Aug. 18, 2026

“The love from the jazz and music community restored my faith in humanity,” Walia wrote in an online post upon his release from detention at an ICE facility.
(Photo: Courtesy Pritesh Walia)

Indian jazz guitarist and composer Pritesh Walia has been released after being unexpectedly detained by ICE and taken into custody on Aug. 2 at Los Angeles International Airport. Upon his release, he posted a video describing details of his detention, noting that he was “scared, hopeless and completely broken” during his 14-day stay at Adelanto ICE Processing Center in Southern California.

After being granted bond, Walia said he went home and expressed thanks to everyone who supported him during his ordeal. He wrote on Instagram: “14 days that changed me forever. Grateful beyond words for my family, my girlfriend, my lawyer, and every single person who stood by me. The love from the jazz and music community restored my faith in humanity. YOU gave me hope. Taking a few days to heal, breathe, and be with my loved ones. Thank you.”

Born and raised in New Delhi, India, Walia began his musical training at age 13 in Indian classical music. He came to the U.S. to study music at institutions of higher learning, earning an associate’s degree from the Musician’s Institute in Los Angeles, a bachelor’s degree from Berklee College of Music and a master’s degree from New England Conservatory.

Walia has lived in the U.S. since 2019 on an O1B visa, a temporary U.S. work visa for artists. It is initially granted for three years, and can be extended a year at a time for a maximum of three years. According to an ICE statement, he was required to depart the country by 2025.

in 2023, Walia suffered a health crisis when he began to suffer from severe vertigo, dissociation, oscillopsia, blurry vision and balance issues. He was diagnosed with Persistent Postural Perceptual Dizziness (PPPD), Idiopathic Intracranial Hypertension (IIH) and chronic vestibular migraines. His ongoing treatment for these conditions consists of aggressive physical therapy, cognitive-behavioral therapy and a carefully balanced regimen of medications.

On July 31, Walia released a new album titled Journey To Nowhere, which features the Henry Godfrey Jazz Orchestra with special guests Aaron Parks, Jerry Bergonzi, Godwin Louis and others. In a recent DownBeat feature, writer Bill Milkowski chronicled a breakout period in 2024 that saw Walia release both the organ-trio album PSA, with keyboardist Sharik Hasan and drummer Avery Logan, and Hopetown, praised for its lyrical guitar work and harmonically rich writing. DB