Afghan translator who worked for US military detained by Ice in Connecticut
Identified only as Zia S, the 35-year-old husband and father of five who entered the US in October 2024 with a visa issued by American authorities was arrested and taken away in a van last week after a routine biometrics appointment for his green card in East Hartford, Connecticut, according to his attorney, members of Congress and human-rights advocates.
A judge has issued a temporary stay preventing Zia's removal from the United States, but he remains in detention at a facility in Plymouth, Massachusetts.
The former wartime interpreter fled Afghanistan 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 (SIV). This visa is a pathway to permanent residency, or a green card, for certain foreign nationals who have worked for the US government or military in specific capacities, particularly in Iraq and Afghanistan.
'What happened to him is the worst kind of abhorrent violation of basic decency,' said the Democratic senator Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut on Tuesday. 'He actually worked and risked his life in Afghanistan to uphold the values and rights that are central to democracy.'
Zia is the third known Afghan ally who helped US troops to have been seized by Ice since Trump returned to power, amid growing outrage at the administration's actions.
Jahana Hayes, a Democratic member of Congress for Connecticut, said she had been contacted by Zia's family because they didn't know where Ice had taken him. 'Our credibility is at stake. We have families who have risked everything not just for themselves, but for their entire family … in the name of standing up for the promises of our American democracy,' Hayes said.
In a statement to Reuters, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said the Afghan national entered the US on 8 October 2024, and is under investigation for a 'serious criminal allegation', adding: 'All of his claims will be heard by a judge. Any Afghan who fears persecution is able to request relief.'
Zia's attorney Lauren Petersen said she had no idea what the DHS was referring to.
'Zia has done everything right. He's followed the rules. He has no criminal history,' said Petersen, adding that he was approved for humanitarian parole due to a direct threat from Afghanistan's Taliban rulers. 'If he is deported … he faces death.'
Sign up to This Week in Trumpland
A deep dive into the policies, controversies and oddities surrounding the Trump administration
after newsletter promotion
More than 70,000 Afghans were granted permission to enter the US under Joe Biden's 'Operation Allies Welcome' initiative, which followed the bungled America exit and subsequent Taliban takeover in 2021.
Some, like Zia, have a SIV and pathway to permanent residency, while about 12,000 or so have temporary protected status (TPS) – a type of work visa granted to people already in the US who cannot return to their home countries due to armed conflicts, natural disasters or other extraordinary events.
The Trump administration is seeking to terminate TPS status for multiple countries including Venezuela, Haiti and Afghanistan – despite ongoing unstable and dangerous conditions in those countries.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Reuters
12 minutes ago
- Reuters
Lawsuit accuses Apple of stealing trade secrets to create Apple Pay
Aug 7 (Reuters) - Apple (AAPL.O), opens new tab has been sued by a Texas company that accused the iPhone maker of stealing its technology to create its lucrative mobile wallet Apple Pay. In a complaint made public on Thursday, Fintiv said Apple Pay's key features were based on technology developed by CorFire, which Fintiv bought in 2014, and now used in hundreds of millions of iPhones, iPads, Apple Watches and MacBooks. Apple did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Fintiv, based in Austin, Texas, said Apple held multiple meetings in 2011 and 2012 and entered nondisclosure agreements with CorFire aimed at licensing its mobile wallet technology, to capitalize on fast-growing demand for contactless payments. Instead, and with the help of CorFire employees it lured away, Apple used the technology and trade secrets to launch Apple Pay in the United States and dozens of other countries, beginning in 2014, the complaint said. Fintiv also said Apple has led an informal racketeering enterprise by using Apple Pay to generate fees for credit card issuers such as Bank of America, Capital One, Citigroup, JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo, and the payment networks American Express, Mastercard and Visa. "This is a case of corporate theft and racketeering of monumental proportions," enabling Cupertino, California-based Apple to generate billions of dollars of revenue without paying Fintiv "a single penny," the complaint said. In a statement, Fintiv's lawyer Marc Kasowitz called Apple's conduct "one of the most egregious examples of corporate malfeasance" he has seen in 45 years of law practice. The lawsuit in Atlanta federal court seeks compensatory and punitive damages for violations of federal and Georgia trade secrets and anti-racketeering laws, including RICO. Apple is the only defendant. CorFire was based in Alpharetta, Georgia, an Atlanta suburb. On August 4, a federal judge in Austin dismissed Fintiv's related patent infringement lawsuit against Apple, four days after rejecting some of Fintiv's claims, court records show. Fintiv agreed to the dismissal, and plans to "appeal on the existing record," the records show. The case is Fintiv Inc v Apple Inc, U.S. District Court, Northern District of Georgia, No. 25-04413.
.jpeg%3Ftrim%3D0%2C5%2C0%2C5%26width%3D1200%26height%3D800%26crop%3D1200%3A800&w=3840&q=100)
The Independent
13 minutes ago
- The Independent
Hegseth attended service at church of ‘Christian nationalist' pastor who doesn't think women should vote and wants US to be theocracy
Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth reportedly attended a service at Christ Church Washington D.C., a church affiliated with self-identified Christian nationalist Doug Wilson, an influential right-wing leader who seeks to turn the U.S. and other nations into Christian-led theocracies. Hegseth and his family were in attendance at the church's inaugural service in Washington in July, CNN reports. 'The Secretary is a proud member of a church affiliated with the Congregation of Reformed Evangelical Churches, which was founded by Pastor Doug Wilson,' Chief Pentagon Spokesman Sean Parnell said in a statement to The Independent. 'The Secretary very much appreciates many of Mr. Wilson's writings and teachings.' The Defense Secretary has attended services at other venues around Washington, including the Washington National Cathedral and the Pentagon. 'We're not planting the church so that we can get to meet senators and important people,' Wilson told CNN. 'What we're doing is planting a church so that the important people in D.C. will be reminded that God is the important one. What matters is His favor.' Wilson, whose international network of churches, religious publishing, and education ventures began in Idaho in the 1970s, wrote in May that Christ Church's presence in Washington seeks to benefit from the 'many strategic opportunities with numerous evangelicals who will be present both in and around the Trump administration.' The reported attendance is not the first time Hegseth has been linked to Wilson and his movement, which has occupied positions including that the U.S. should repeal the 19th Amendment, which grants women the right to vote, that the Supreme Court should strike down gay marriage, that slavery produced 'genuine affection between the races,' and that women should submit to their husbands. Before joining the Trump administration, Hegseth reportedly moved to Tennessee in part to send his children to a school affiliated with a network Wilson co-founded. Hegseth is also a member of a church affiliated with Wilson's Communion of Reformed Evangelical Churches, and has praised Wilson's writings and Christ Church's college in Idaho, New Saint Andrews. The Secretary and Wilson met in May, as the pastor visited his Tennessee church. That same month, the Justice Department intervened in a legal battle between Christ Church and Troy, Idaho, which it accuses of religious discrimination for blocking church plans to operate in a town building over zoning issues. Wilson, whose views were once considered fringe within the evangelical wing of the Republican party, rose to a new level of national prominence in 2020 during the Covid pandemic, in which church members protested event restrictions with an outdoor service and some were arrested, attracting attention from Donald Trump. 'DEMS WANT TO SHUT YOUR CHURCHES DOWN, PERMANENTLY. HOPE YOU SEE WHAT IS HAPPENING,' Trump wrote on X at the time. 'VOTE NOW!' Since then, Wilson has appeared on the Tucker Carlson podcast, as well as spoken at events in Washington attended by future Trump officials like Russell Vought, head of the White House's influential Office of Management and Budget. Hegseth has embraced public displays of faith in office, including leading a religious service at the Pentagon. During his confirmation process, his religious identity became a topic of controversy. Critics accused Hegseth of having a tattoo featuring a white nationalist dog whistle. Hegseth has the words 'Deus Vult' tattooed on his bicep, which has been associated with white supremacist groups. "Deus Vult" is a Latin phrase meaning "God Wills It," and was a rallying cry for Christian crusaders in the Middle Ages. The National Guard veteran was reportedly stopped from joining a 2021 assignment securing the Biden inauguration over concerns about his tattoos. Hegseth has denied these associations, saying the tattoos are non-hateful testaments to his religious beliefs.
.jpg%3Ftrim%3D0%2C0%2C0%2C0%26width%3D1200%26height%3D800%26crop%3D1200%3A800&w=3840&q=100)
The Independent
13 minutes ago
- The Independent
James Carville says Democrats need a radical plan to ‘save democracy,' including new states
Democratic strategist and former Bill Clinton adviser James Carville has suggested that Democrats may have to add new states and seats to the Supreme Court to save democracy. Carville, who made the comments during Wednesday's episode of his Politics War Room podcast, said Democrats 'are right when they say this democracy is really imperfect.' The strategist said the changes had to be made if Democrats manage to win the House, the Senate, and the White House in 2028, which he called 'certainly not impossible.' 'They are just going to have to unilaterally add Puerto Rico and [the] District of Columbia [as] states … They're just going to have to do it,' the 80-year-old said. 'And they may have to expand the [Supreme Court] to 13 members.' Congress would be able to enact legislation to expand the size of the nation's highest court. Still, the idea hasn't garnered significant support outside of the progressive wing of the Democratic Party. Four Democrats introduced a bill to expand the court in 2021. It was reintroduced in 2023. The size of the Supreme Court has fluctuated since it was established in 1789, but it has remained at nine since 1869. Congress could also approve statehood for Puerto Rico and Washington, D.C., but the proposal has never been close to passing. In 1979, the D.C. Voting Rights Amendment, which would have given D.C. certain state-like rights, such as representation in Congress, without actually making it a state, passed Congress by the required two-thirds majority but was only ratified by 16 states. Thirty-eight were needed for the Amendment to pass. Carville also argued that Democrats should push for legislation to regulate congressional redistricting amid an effort by Texas Republicans to gerrymander five districts in the state held by Democrats. In July, Carville said in a New York Times op-ed that 'The Democratic Party is in shambles' and that it was 'steamrolling toward a civilized civil war.' While Carville didn't address how likely his proposals were to succeed, he argued that the political environment the Democrats find themselves in requires that they take on proposals that would appear radical in different times. 'Any of those things in isolation, I would be skeptical about. ... I would say, 'Well, I don't know if that's the greatest idea in the world, you're opening Pandora's Box,'' he said. 'If you want to save democracy, I think you've got to do all of those things because we just are moving further and further away from being anything close to democracy.'
