A Missouri State University staff person is in custody as an ICE detainee in the Greene County Jail.
Paul J. Essel has been a Grants Accounting Manager at Missouri State since 2019. He is originally from Ghana.
Greene County Jail records indicate Essel was detained by ICE in Springfield Wednesday afternoon.
Missouri court records show only minor traffic violations in 2021 and 2011.
Federal records show Essel came to the US as a student and later attempted to gain citizenship through marriage, that petition was denied in 2012. A separate marriage petition was approved in 2018, but Federal records indicate that the state argued that following that ruling Essel failed to take the appropriate steps to adjust his legal status until it was too late.
Records show a petition to challenge an order of removal was made in 2022 and was ultimately denied in 2023.
KSMU contacted Missouri State University’s Department of Strategic Communication, they stated they were aware of the detainment and looking into it.
This is a developing story, updates may be made as more information is available.