Inexperienced Card Applicant Who Served in Afghanistan Detained by ICE Brokers

[ad_1] An Afghan man who served with U.S. troops and has a pending inexperienced card utility was detained by federal brokers following a routine immigration appointment.

Zia S., a 35-year-old father of 5 and former interpreter for the U.S. navy, was taken into custody by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) brokers outdoors a USCIS workplace in East Hartford, Connecticut, on July 16.

A senior Division of Homeland Safety official instructed Newsweek that the person "is at present underneath investigation for a critical legal allegation."

Newsweek reached out to the person's lawyer for remark through e mail.

Why It Issues After the U.S. navy's two-decade presence in Afghanistan led to 2021, many Afghans who had supported American forces have been granted entry into the US by refugee applications, Particular Immigrant Visas (SIVs), or Non permanent Protected Standing (TPS). Nevertheless, adjustments underneath the Trump administration have led to the termination of TPS for some people, elevating considerations about deportation.

President Donald Trump ordered his administration to take away hundreds of thousands of migrants with out authorized standing to satisfy his marketing campaign pledge of widespread mass deportations. The White Home has maintained that anybody residing within the nation unlawfully is taken into account to be a "legal."

File picture: The Software to Register Everlasting Residence or Regulate Standing from the Division of Homeland Safety. File picture: The Software to Register Everlasting Residence or Regulate Standing from the Division of Homeland Safety. AP/Jon Elswick What to Know Zia, whose full identify is being withheld for security causes, had been residing in Connecticut since October 2024 after arriving within the U.S. on humanitarian parole. He and his household had reportedly obtained Particular Immigrant Visa approvals and have been within the means of making use of for everlasting residency.

He spent about 5 years aiding U.S. troops in Afghanistan earlier than he and his household fled the nation in 2021, after the Taliban regained management. He legally entered the U.S. in October 2024 at John F. Kennedy Worldwide Airport in New York.

Zia was positioned in expedited elimination proceedings. Nevertheless, a federal choose has since issued a brief keep, halting his deportation in the meanwhile.

"Zia has performed the whole lot proper. He is adopted the foundations. He has no legal historical past," his lawyer, Lauren Cundick Petersen, instructed reporters.

After initially being detained in Connecticut, Zia was transferred to an immigration detention facility in Plymouth, Massachusetts.

His detainment comes amid rising outcry in opposition to Afghan allies being detained by ICE at the same time as they adjust to authorized procedures.

Senator Chris Murphy lambasted the Trump administration's immigration coverage and instructed Newsweek that it is a "shame."

"The Trump administration's determination to show its again on our Afghan allies who risked their lives and the lives of their households to help American troops in Afghanistan is unconscionable," the Connecticut Democrat stated.

"They stood shoulder to shoulder with our women and men in uniform, and our nation made a dedication to guard them and their households. Now, Donald Trump has ripped the rug out from underneath them, a betrayal that can be a dying sentence for any Afghan nationwide despatched again."

Connecticut Senator Richard Blumenthal, a Democrat, additionally stated it was "disgraceful" that ICE brokers arrested a person who risked his life for the U.S.

"For masked brokers to grab somebody off the road with no warning, no counsel, no alternative even to know who's doing it whereas it is in course of, is un-American," Blumenthal instructed reporters on Tuesday.

"He really labored and risked his life in Afghanistan to uphold the values and rights which can be central to democracy. And for now, for him to be, in impact, violated in his rights when he has fought for these rights right here is totally disgraceful."

What are Individuals Saying Senator Chris Murphy instructed Newsweek: "It is a shame that may have long-term penalties for our nationwide safety as international nationals merely refuse to assist the U.S. overseas as a result of they know we'll simply abandon them ultimately."

A senior DHS Official instructed Newsweek: Zia is "a nationwide of Afghanistan, entered the U.S. on October 8, 2024, and paroled by the Biden administration into our nation."

Senator Richard Blumenthal instructed reporters on a press name on Tuesday: "Zia thought he was secure when he arrived in America, the land of freedom and alternative. The place on this planet are you safer than in America? And because it seems, he was completely unsafe due to this administration."

Zia's lawyer, Lauren Cundick Petersen, instructed reporters on a press name: "Following the foundations are supposed to guard you. It isn't purported to land you in detention. If he's deported, as so most of the individuals have articulated at present, he faces dying."