{"id":12023,"date":"2025-07-23T15:29:24","date_gmt":"2025-07-23T07:29:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/?p=12023"},"modified":"2025-07-23T15:29:28","modified_gmt":"2025-07-23T07:29:28","slug":"masked-ice-agents-detain-former-afghan-interpreter-who-helped-us-military","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/?p=12023","title":{"rendered":"Masked ICE agents detain former Afghan interpreter who helped US military"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>A former Afghan interpreter who worked with the US military was detained by masked and armed immigration agents during a routine appointment in Connecticut, his attorney and members of Congress said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignwide size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"673\" src=\"https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/\u4f01\u4e1a\u5fae\u4fe1\u622a\u56fe_20250723152631-1024x673.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12024\" srcset=\"https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/\u4f01\u4e1a\u5fae\u4fe1\u622a\u56fe_20250723152631-1024x673.png 1024w, https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/\u4f01\u4e1a\u5fae\u4fe1\u622a\u56fe_20250723152631-300x197.png 300w, https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/\u4f01\u4e1a\u5fae\u4fe1\u622a\u56fe_20250723152631-768x505.png 768w, https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/\u4f01\u4e1a\u5fae\u4fe1\u622a\u56fe_20250723152631.png 1044w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Identified only as Zia for safety reasons, the man had relocated to the United States legally under a programme designed to protect Afghans who aided US forces during the war in Afghanistan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>He was arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents and transported out of state, according to advocates, legal counsel, and lawmakers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;What happened to him is the worst kind of abhorrent violation of basic decency,&#8221; said Senator Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;He actually worked and risked his life in Afghanistan.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Blumenthal, along with Representatives Jahana Hayes and Bill Keating, pledged to fight for Zia\u2019s release.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Zia remains in detention, though a judge has issued a temporary stay blocking his removal from the country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said in a statement that Zia entered the US on October 8, 2024, and is under investigation for a &#8220;serious criminal allegation.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;All of his claims will be heard by a judge. Any Afghan who fears persecution is able to request relief,&#8221; DHS said, without offering additional details.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Zia\u2019s attorney, Lauren Petersen, said her client was granted humanitarian parole due to direct threats from the Taliban and has no criminal record.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;I have no understanding of what they\u2019re referring to,&#8221; she said, responding to DHS\u2019 reference to a criminal allegation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Humanitarian parole provides temporary legal status in the US for individuals facing urgent danger or offering public benefit. Zia was applying for a green card as part of that process when he was detained.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Following the 2021 Taliban takeover, more than 70,000 Afghans were brought to the US under the &#8220;Operation Allies Welcome&#8221; program launched by former President Joe Biden.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Under President Donald Trump, immigration authorities have expanded deportations and reversed protections for many foreign nationals, including some 14,600 Afghans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Shawn VanDiver, founder of #AfghanEvac, a coalition supporting resettled Afghans, said Zia is not the only case.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;We\u2019re aware of at least two other Afghans detained after being admitted because they worked for the US military,&#8221; he said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A former Afghan interpreter who worked with the US military was detained by masked and armed immigration agents during a routine appointment in Connecticut, his attorney and members of Congress said. Identified only as Zia for safety reasons, the man had relocated to the United States legally under a programme designed to protect Afghans who [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":12024,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[1907,3500,1608],"class_list":["post-12023","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-international","tag-his","tag-masked","tag-military"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v19.0 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Masked ICE agents detain former Afghan interpreter who helped US military - LISTEN WORLD<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/?p=12023\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Masked ICE agents detain former Afghan interpreter who helped US military - LISTEN WORLD\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"A former Afghan interpreter who worked with the US military was detained by masked and armed immigration agents during a routine appointment in Connecticut, his attorney and members of Congress said. 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