Newlywed Detained by ICE for 140 Days Says She Was Treated 'Like Cattle'

Newsweek

7 hours ago

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A newlywed bride from Texas who was released from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody on Thursday has said she was treated like "cattle" during her detention.
Ward Sakeik, a 22-year-old stateless Palestinian woman married to a U.S. citizen, spoke publicly for the first time since she was detained at a Miami airport in February upon returning from a honeymoon and held in ICE custody for 140 days.
Following her return from the U.S. Virgin Islands with husband Taahir Shaikh, "I was put in a gray tracksuit and shackles immediately," Sakeik told a press conference held in Dallas-Fort Worth.
Ward Sakeik speaking at a press conference with her husband Taahir Shaikh, after she was released from ICE detention on July 1.
Ward Sakeik speaking at a press conference with her husband Taahir Shaikh, after she was released from ICE detention on July 1.
WFAA/WFAA
"I was handcuffed for 16 hours without any water or food on the bus. I was moved around like cattle," she added.
"Any claim that there is a lack of food or subprime conditions at ICE detention centers are false," Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin told Newsweek.
"All detainees are provided with proper meals, medical treatment, and have opportunities to communicate with their family members and lawyers. Ensuring the safety, security, and well-being of individuals in our custody is a top priority at ICE. Meals are certified by dietitians."
Newsweek has contacted ICE and Shaikh via email for comment.
Why It Matters
President Donald Trump has pledged to carry out the largest mass deportation operation in U.S. history, and in the initial months of his second term, his administration has deported more than 100,000 people. Anyone living in the country without legal status is considered a "criminal," the White House has said.
Deaths in ICE detention centers are also set to surpass last year's total, with 12 people already confirmed to have died while in ICE custody since October 2024, which advocacy groups have warned are due to the "increased and aggressive" detention policies under the Trump administration.
What To Know
ICE had attempted to deport Sakeik in the early hours of June 30, despite a federal court order barring her removal, a day before her release.
At around 5 a.m. CT on Monday, Sakeik was woken by guards and told to prepare to leave the facility immediately, according to the legal team, in what was the second attempt by ICE to deport Sakeik unlawfully.
The previous instance had occurred on June 12, when ICE officers escorted her to the tarmac at Fort Worth Alliance Airport and indicated she was being deported to "the border of Israel," despite the government's awareness that she is stateless and lacks a pathway to citizenship in Israel or the West Bank.
"These deportations, they just happened all of a sudden—I was not given a phone call," Sakeik said at the press conference.
She added that she was able to call her husband, but "a phone call was not provided to me from ICE."
"I just had to wait and take a very, very long time to pack my stuff to just buy time to wait for the phone system to work to call Taahir," she said.
She also said that "there were multiple days where it would be 36 hours, 50 hours, where I was not allowed to make a phone call to my attorney or my husband."
Around the time of her wedding in January, Sakeik had applied for a green card and successfully cleared the initial stage of the process, but because of her immigration status, the couple decided to honeymoon in the U.S. Virgin Islands, avoiding international travel.
Sakeik was detained despite her pending green card application and documentation detailing her unique immigration situation.
She was born in Saudi Arabia, but holds no citizenship there, and was 8 years old when her family entered the U.S.
"I have been a law-abiding resident of the United States since I was 8 years old. I went to college. I run a successful wedding photography business here in [Dallas-Fort Worth]," she said.
"My family did come here in 2011 seeking asylum, and we have followed all immigration policies and have complied with every single thing, every single document, every single piece of paper, every single thing that was thrown at us," she said.
McLaughlin told Newsweek: "Ward Sakeik was not 'complying with immigration policies.' The facts are she is in our country illegally."
After Sakeik's family's asylum request was denied, they were not deported because they lacked citizenship in any country. Instead, they were placed under an order of supervision, which required them to check in annually with immigration officials.
What People Are Saying
Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin told Newsweek: "Ensuring the safety, security, and well-being of individuals in our custody is a top priority at ICE. Why does the media continue to fall for the sob stories of illegal aliens in detention and villainize ICE law enforcement?
"She overstayed her visa and has had a final order by an immigration judge for over a decade. President Trump and [Homeland] Secretary [Kristi] Noem are committed to restoring integrity to the visa program and ensuring it is not abused to allow aliens a permanent one-way ticket to remain in the U.S."
Ward Sakeik said at the press conference: "The humanity that I was taught in middle school, elementary, high school and college growing up is not the humanity that I've seen. It was the humanity that was stripped away from me, all of it, none of it was there."
"I did lose five months of my life because I was criminalized for being stateless, something that I have absolutely no control over. I didn't chose to be stateless. I didn't do a crime that made me stateless. I had no choice."
Sakeik's attorney Eric Lee told Newsweek: "Ward gave us a terrifying view into the life and deplorable, inhuman conditions that she suffered for five months as somebody who came to the United States as an 8-year-old, and her only crime was being a stateless Palestinian woman. What she described are conditions that continue for thousands and thousands of immigrants who remain detained in a network of what can only be called internment camps that have been set up by administrations from both the Democratic and Republican parties over the course of recent years."
Lee added: "I think what Ward described should give Americans a lot to think about what this country and its government stands for on the Fourth of July and to remember that 249 years ago, the Declaration of Independence included the provision that when any form of government becomes destructive of the unalienable rights of the people. It is the right of the people to alter or abolish the government."
"The passage of the ["Big Beautiful"] bill yesterday by Congress will massively expand the number of people who are forced to endure the conditions that Ward was forced to endure for five months. What Ward experienced is a great historic crime and unfortunately there are tens of thousands of people who continue to suffer under those conditions every single day."
CAIR-DFW Executive Director Mustafaa Carroll said in a statement shared with Newsweek: "Words cannot effectively express our sincere appreciation for the much-awaited release of Ms. Ward Sakeik from ICE detention that lasted over 120 days. We are extremely pleased that she is now able to rejoin her husband and continue building their life together. Many thanks to all who helped contribute in aiding her release."