Rogers Park Family Faces Eviction As Husband Strikes In Texas

Amaliia Gilmutdinova is fighting to keep her Rogers Park apartment while her husband, Shokhrukh Abdullaev, continues a hunger strike inside a Texas immigration detention center. As of Oct. 27, Abdullaev has refused food for over two weeks at the El Valle Detention Center in Raymondville, where he has been held since December 2025. Gilmutdinova said she fears his health is declining. She also faces a five-day notice to evict from her landlord.

Abdullaev was arrested in November 2025 by immigration agents at a border checkpoint in Texas while driving a truck toward Ohio. He was moved to El Valle last December. Gilmutdinova and the couple's then-4-year-old daughter, Avrova, arrived in the United States in 2021. Gilmutdinova said she sought to leave Russia because she criticized President Vladimir Putin and feared arrest. Abdullaev has no criminal record and holds a pending asylum application, according to Block Club's review of records.

On Oct. 11, Abdullaev joined about 30 other immigrants in refusing food. Sarah Quinn, a Chicago organizer assisting the family, said 10 to 13 detainees also stopped drinking water last week. Quinn said detainees at El Valle report murky water, insufficient food and denied medical requests. Abdullaev has reported blood in his urine and has not received treatment, she said. He was moved to isolation after the strike began and lost access to commissary funds.

A Texas appellate court ruled on Oct. 23 that immigration authorities may hold detainees indefinitely during pending cases. Politico reported the decision removes any guarantee of bond hearings for detainees without criminal records. Gilmutdinova said she wanted to ask her husband to stop the strike after the ruling. During a call last week, he said he was ready to "go until the end."

On Oct. 26, Rep. Delia Ramirez of Illinois sent a letter with six other members of Congress to the Department of Homeland Security. The lawmakers cited reports of hunger strikes at El Valle and 10 other ICE facilities. The letter calls for the release of strikers and an end to force-feeding. Ramirez sits on a DHS oversight committee.

Gilmutdinova said she spends about $160 a week to send food and water to her husband. She has fallen behind on rent since Abdullaev, who worked as a truck driver, was arrested. Her lease expired in October. Quinn launched a GoFundMe that had raised roughly $12,000 of a $25,000 goal by Oct. 27. The family also seeks an immigration attorney to correct records that list Abdullaev as unmarried with no children.