The U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement has detained a Missouri State University alumnus and employee, according to records from the Greene County Sheriff's Office.
On Oct. 7, MSU's manager of grants accounting Paul Essel was detained by ICE. Essel is a native and citizen of Ghana, according to court records, who came to the United States on a nonpermanent student visa in 2003. He is being held without bond.
According to a statement from MSU, Essel obtained two graduate degrees there between 2008 and 2014, and began working for the university while pursuing those degrees.
"Mr. Essel is a valued, long-standing member of the Missouri State University community," the statement said.
What happened in Paul Essel's case?
Court records indicate that in 2009, Essel obtained conditional
permanent resident status and applied for a citizenship based on marrying a U.S. citizen, though the U.S. Citizen and Immigration Services denied that application in 2012 because "it determined Essel was not living in a marital union with his citizen-spouse and that he had made false statements regarding his marriage to obtain an immigration benefit."
He and his then-spouse lived in different states, USCIS's investigation found. The couple divorced in 2013.
An immigration judge agreed with the denial and ruled that Essel be removed to Ghana, which Essel appealed. The Board of Immigration Appeals dismissed the appeal. After the appeal, in 2016, Essel married a woman who had become a U.S. citizen in 2014. She filed an I-130 petition, which "is the first step to help an eligible relative apply to immigrate to the United States and apply for a Green Card," according to the USCIS.
"After originally giving notice of its intent to deny the I-130 petition based on Essel’s prior marriage fraud, Immigration Services reversed course and approved the petition in June 2018," the court document said. "Though this approval did not itself grant any immigration status to Essel or guarantee his eligibility for a visa, it would normally allow him to apply for an adjustment of status."
In 2019 and 2021, Essel filed separate motions to re-open his case in order to change his immigration status, according to court records, which the board denied on merits and because the appeal was not filed promptly.
In 2022, Essel appealed the decision to the United States Court of Appeals, which denied his petition for review.
What is Essel's criminal record like?
According to Case.net, Missouri Courts' online system, Essel has two traffic tickets — one in 2011 for going 1 to 5 mph over the speed limit in Pulaski County and one in 2021 for not driving on the right side of the roadway when it was sufficient width — to which he pleaded guilty and paid the fines.
While not a criminal case, in 2025 Essel was ordered to pay $3,261.63 after failing to make payments on a credit account with Synchrony Bank. Essel satisfied the judgment in March 2026, according to court records.
In an Oct. 8 statement regarding progress on its "Make America Safe Again" mandate, the Department of Homeland Security said it had deported "more worst of the worst criminal illegal aliens" the previous week.
"This Department is laser-focused on arresting and removing the worst of the worst criminal illegal aliens from American communities," DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullen said in the statement. "Just last week, ICE deported even more criminal illegal aliens from our country, including gang members, murderers, pedophiles, violent assailants, burglars, and drunk drivers. We will never apologize for enforcing the law and keeping American citizens safe.”
An August 2026 analysis of federal data by the New York Times found that the majority of undocumented immigrants arrested this past summer were those accused of violating civil immigration laws but who had not been charged with or convicted of a crime. About 4% of those arrested had a past violent criminal conviction.
In response to the analysis, a DHS spokesperson told the New York Times "that anyone in the country illegally was a target for enforcement."
Read the full statement from MSU
MSU sent the News-Leader the following statement on the morning of Oct. 9:
Missouri State University is aware that Paul Essel, manager of grants accounting, was detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on Oct. 7, although at this time we have not received any official communication from any law enforcement agencies on this matter.
Mr. Essel is a valued, long-standing member of the Missouri State University community. He attended Missouri State as a student and obtained two graduate degrees between the years of 2008-14. He began working for the university while pursuing his degree and continued his employment after graduation. Since that time, he remained an employee in good standing.
The university followed its standard hiring procedures and federal law, including criminal background check and verification of his eligibility to work in the United States.
University leadership is working to better understand the situation and determine appropriate action. In accordance with university policy, Mr. Essel is currently on paid administrative leave pending completion of our evaluation.
This article originally appeared on Springfield News-Leader: Missouri State University employee detained by ICE
