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Afghan interpreter in US legally detained by ICE at routine green card appointment

Zia S., a 35-year-old husband and father of five who came to the U.S. legally, was arrested by masked ICE agents following a routine biometrics appointment for his green card.
Afghan interpreter in US legally detained by ICE at routine green card appointment
ICE Arrest New York
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An Afghan immigrant who worked as a wartime translator for American troops has been detained by ICE.

Zia S., a 35-year-old husband and father of five who came to the U.S. legally, was arrested by masked ICE agents following a routine biometrics appointment for his green card in East Hartford, Connecticut, last week.

The former wartime interpreter aided American troops in Afghanistan about five years during the war and fled the country with his family after the Taliban takeover in 2021. Zia legally entered the US in October 2024 through JFK airport with humanitarian parole and an approved Special Immigrant Visa. His detainment comes amid growing outcry against Afghan allies being detained by ICE even as they comply with legal procedures.

“Zia has done everything right. He’s followed the rules. He has no criminal history,” Zia’s attorney, Lauren Cundick Petersen, said.

During a press call Tuesday, Petersen said Zia has been placed in expedited removal proceedings. The Department of Homeland Security said that Zia is currently under criminal investigation. While a judge has temporarily stayed Zia’s removal, Petersen said he is terrified he’ll be returned back to Afghanistan.

“Following the rules are supposed to protect you,” Petersen said. “It's not supposed to land you in detention. If he is deported, as so many of the people have articulated today, he faces death.”

Senator Richard Blumenthal during the press conference called ICE arrests of Afghan allies like Zia "a violation of basic trust.”

“What happened to him is the worst kind of abhorrent violation of basic decency,” the Connecticut senator said. “Put aside the legal causes and the issues here for unmasked agents to snatch someone off the street with no warning, no counsel, no opportunity even to know who is doing it while it's in process is un-American.”

After originally being detained in Connecticut, Zia was transported to a detention facility in Plymouth, Massachusetts, according to his attorney and Rep. Jahana Hayes (D-CT).

Hayes, who also spoke during Tuesday press call, said she had been contacted by Zia’s family directly following the arrest because they didn’t know where he was being held.

“Our credibility is at stake. We have families who have risked everything not just for themselves, but for their entire family,” Hayes said. “They have risked their health and safety. And in the name of standing up for the promises of our American democracy, that could not have been easy at the time. So this betrayal has to be that much more difficult in this moment.”

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Last month, Sayed Naser Noori, another Afghan ally who served as a wartime interpreter, was detained by ICE at an immigration courthouse in San Diego, California. He was arrested after his asylum case was abruptly dismissed by DHS. He continues to be detained, but his asylum application is moving forward, Noori’s lawyer said on the press call Tuesday.

Several advocates and supporters argue these ICE arrests and other recent moves by the Trump administration like halting relocation programs and ending legal protections like Temporary Protected Status for Afghans, jeopardize troops who serve abroad.

“This isn't about one person. This is about thousands of people,” Rep. Bill Keating said on Tuesday’s call. “This is about our veterans. If their word means nothing when they're on the battlefield, risking their lives, and being saved in so many instances by the support of people like Zia who are giving this services as their family and their own lives are being threatened and tortured, then what does that mean for our word going forward?”

“What does that mean for future instances where, our sons and daughters are going to be deployed in areas that are unsafe and that those lives can be saved and protected with the cooperation of people and allies like Zia?” he added.

Andrew Sullivan, Executive Director of No One Left Behind, an organization that and has helped thousands of Afghan allies resettle, told Scripps News there is a “moral obligation” to protect them from deportation to Afghanistan, which is controlled by Taliban.

"We gave our promise that we were going to give a pathway to these folks and we were gonna secure them because, quite frankly, they put their cards in or put their chips in on America. They put themselves and their families at risk. And so, I think keeping our word is a moral obligation," said Sullivan who worked with Afghan interpreters when he served in Afghanistan.

He added that the obligation is also meant "to make sure that the next generation of war fighters, the next generation of diplomats, the next generation of intelligence professionals – that they have local nationals that are gonna work alongside America.”

RELATED STORY | State Department reductions prompt concerns for Afghan refugee aid

Blumenthal said on the call he will use every tool available to stop detainment like Zia’s from happening.

“To Zia, we have your back. We're going to fight for you. We're going to leave no stone unturned,” Blumenthal said.

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