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 US, 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 New York's 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 US 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
Daily Mail
21 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Turtle meets grim fate after Florida woman attempts to smuggle creature through airport TSA inside her bra
A Florida woman attempted to smuggle turtles through airport security by hiding them inside her bra - leaving one of the creature to meet a grim and tragic fate. Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officers at Miami International Airport made the shocking discovery during a routine security screening where they found two live turtles stuffed inside a traveler's bra. The unnamed woman was allegedly attempting to fly out of Miami airport but she was caught red-handed when TSA agent cracked her shell of a plan. Tragically, one of the animals did not survive the ordeal. The surviving turtle was handed over to the Florida Department of Fish and Wildlife, which is now caring for the creature. In a now-viral Facebook post, TSA shared the unique story and reminded passengers that while pets are allowed to travel, there are strict guidelines in place. 'OK friends, please - and we cannot emphasize this enough - stop hiding animals in weird places on your body and then trying to sneak them through airport security,' TSA urged in the post. 'No, really,' the post continued. 'A Florida woman traveling out of Miami International Airport (MIA) recently attempted to take a pair of turtles through our checkpoint, and the turtles were stuffed inside… yes, you guessed it… her brassiere.' TSA Officials blasted the irresponsible pet owner for her reckless stunt in the pun-filled post. 'We want you to be able to travel with your pets, and you turtle-ly can, but please travel with them safely.' 'You can start by reaching out to your airline for their rules concerning pets on board flights.' The officials reminded passengers of basic rules when traveling with pets - emphasizing that all small pets must be carried through security checkpoint, not concealed under a shirt. 'As far as TSA screening goes, small pets are allowed through our checkpoint but must be removed from any carriers and carried through the checkpoint (notice we said 'carried' and not 'hidden underneath your clothing').' 'Sadly, for this MIA traveler, one of the turtles didn't survive. The surviving turtle was turned over to the Florida Department of Fish and Wildlife, and we're thankful for their partnership throughout this incident.' The TSA officials did not release the name of the passenger responsible, nor did they provide the the motive behind her actions. It's unclear at this point whether she will face any criminal charges. The post was met with mixed reactions - with some users outraged by the woman's mishandling of the animals and others shocked by the absurdity of the story. 'Hiding it her bra was not the first place I thought she would hid it. LOL,' one user commented. Another wrote: 'Only in Florida.' But others demanded that the woman face serious consequences. 'So what are her consequences? Any? Or does she just get told don't do that again,' one user commented. In a now-viral Facebook post, TSA shared the unique story and reminded passengers that while pets are allowed to travel, there are strict guidelines in place This isn't the first surprise for TSA agents - who regularly encounter wild smuggling attempts - sometimes involving much larger animals. In 2023, TSA agents in Florida found a four-foot boa constrictor in a woman's carry-on bag after her suitcase was passed through an X-ray machine. The woman told agents at Tampa International Airport that the snake was 'an emotional support pet,' a TSA spokesperson said at the time. The TSA released X-ray images of the snake on Friday. The images showed the animal curled up in the corner of a tray next to ordinary items such as sneakers, a belt, and a laptop. The agency says it notified the airline which confirmed that it would not allow the snake in the plane's cabin. The TSA said snakes are never allowed to travel in carry-on luggage and only on some airlines can they be checked-in.
The Guardian
43 minutes ago
- The Guardian
Considering an open relationship? Don't read this Reddit forum
It all started with Elon Musk's black eye. In May, the President's on-again-off-again best friend appeared in the Oval Office visibly bruised. He laughed it off and said his five-year-old child had done it. The internet had other ideas. Soon, a round of extremely unconfirmed speculation began about an alleged – and I cannot stress the word 'alleged' enough – throuple: Musk; Trump's deputy chief of staff, Stephen Miller, and his wife, political adviser Katie Miller. The Democrats even weighed in with a post of an empty hotel room chair, a notorious signpost of cuckoldry. I'm not alone in finding perverse joy in other people's relationship dramas. Reddit's crowdsourced advice sections, particularly r/relationships and r/amitheasshole, have long been staples of viral posts. They're portable soap operas – or in some cases, sitcoms – with the added spice that they're (probably, sometimes, maybe) real. The Musk-Miller saga led me to r/openmarriageregret, a subreddit mining and reposting threads from other relationship and polyamory boards for cautionary tales of open relationships gone wrong. Maintaining a relationship with another human being contorts us into new ugly shapes. Maintaining a relationship with two or more other human beings can break us apart. The page opens with a sober preamble: 'Life is about choices. Some we regret, some we are proud of – and some will haunt us for ever.' It's all very 'don't try this at home'. Sure. This is for educational purposes. Many posts are as you'd imagine: a man pressures his wife into an open relationship and is then shocked to discover that she's a sought-after 10 and he's sexual kryptonite. But things can get so much worse. One user asks if they're in the wrong 'for leaving our honeymoon because my husband and his boyfriend kept leaving me and my girlfriend out'. Another writes of a very contemporary woe: 'My husband wants to open our marriage for his AI girlfriend and says it's the next step in their relationship.' Her partner has been acting distant lately, she says, spending a lot of time on the phone, smiling to himself, hiding away in the home office. Then he says he has something to tell her. Is he having an affair? No. It's far worse. The user continues: 'He told me he wants to take the next step with her.' This involves introducing the AI to their children. 'How do I stay married to someone who's half emotionally checked out of our life and into a fucking chatbot?' In the comments, several people share their experience of male partners becoming enamoured of a simulation of a woman who doesn't talk back and is programmed to think everything he says is brilliant. The voyeurism of the group is twofold: of course the relationship dramas are engaging. But so are the way people discuss these real scenarios. The commenters bring their own baggage and bias, perhaps not realising they're part of the drama themselves. The group's diehards subscribe to one central thesis: that those opening their relationships want novelty and attention, and the person who provides this is functionally irrelevant. The thesis, of course, doesn't necessarily hold water. As much as non-monogamy continues to rise, we've been gawking at successful open arrangements for decades. Not that it matters to the group's frequenters, who forge forward in their cynicism, however misinformed. 'I know absolutely no one in an open relationship or marriage,' says one user, who is in the top 1% of commenters in the group. I know, by my slightly unsettling investment in the group, that I'm complicit. But I can't look away. Who are these commenters? Who hurt them? Why are they so devoted to other people's romantic dramas, their crumbling marriages? Why am I? The emotional zing of gossip is strong. Even the usually humourless Democrats are in on it. So, putting ill will to one side: I truly hope the alleged Musk-Miller polycule patch things up. Alleged! I mean alleged! They're made for each other.
Daily Mail
an hour ago
- Daily Mail
Beach city scraps 10,000 new homes and plans F1-style track instead that locals rage is 'dumb' and 'desperate'
Locals in a popular New Jersey beach city are enraged after it ditched plans to build 10,000 new homes for a 'dumb' and 'desperate' $3.4 billion F1-style racetrack. Atlantic City government officials have moved forward with the redevelopment of Bader Field, a shuttered airport about an hour outside of Philadelphia, after plans for the new racetrack were officially approved on July 16. The idea to take over the abandoned city-owned airport, which shut down in 2006, first started in 2022 when Bart Blatstein, the CEO of Tower Investments, Inc. and owner of Showboat Atlantic City, said his company and Atlantic City would collaborate to create a massive residential community. The proposed $3 billion development, dubbed 'Casa Mar,' was set to be built on 140 acres with 10,000 residential units, 20 acres of trails, amenities and parks and 400,000 square-feet of retail and office space - but that plan has since been wiped. Instead, a 2.5-mile racetrack, headed by real estate development company Deem Enterprises, will take its place. The massive raceway, said to be a 'game changer' by Atlantic City Mayor Marty Small Sr., is expected to take six to nine years to complete. It will be surrounded by retail businesses and condominiums in the community that is home to beaches, a bustling boardwalk and casinos. 'We're more confident than ever that we have the funds, Small Sr., an Atlantic City native who has been in office since 2019, told NJ Advance Media. '[DEEM] has been vetted, and just getting a $3.4-plus billion project on the ratable base is a complete game changer.' While the mayor, who was embroiled in a child abuse scandal involving his wife and daughter last year, and other government officials are thrilled about the new plan, Atlantic City locals are not happy with it. 'Atlantic City leadership is so desperate that they will support any development offer no matter how stupid it is,' a Facebook user wrote. Another said: 'What a joke! Want to really do something with the land? Dig canals and sell off lots and watch the ratepayers flood in!' 'Building that into a racetrack has to be the dumbest idea in the world,' someone else posted. A resident stressed that the heavily populated and touristy area is already filled with loud noises, so a racetrack would not be ideal. 'If people are bothered by the noise from beach concerts, the noise from the screaming F1 race cars would be unbearable!,' they said. While many are not happy with the development, others appear to be excited for the new track. 'Hell yes,' one simply wrote. Somebody else said: 'Do it!' Another said: 'Excellent' alongside several thumbs up and heart emojis. Meanwhile, a majority of people are not convinced the racetrack will ever be completed. 'They've been talking about it for years... highly doubt it'll ever happen,' wrote a user. 'This is all BS. Every few years this story comes out,' someone else shared. Another posted: 'I'm gonna go ahead and predict this will never happen.' Blatstein told the outlet three years ago that he saw room for growth in the beach city after realizing that other Garden State beach towns have booming populations compared to Atlantic City. 'So what really is needed here is a new plan, a new way of living, a new opportunity for people to come to Atlantic City,' Blatstein said. DEEM Enterprises, a Los Angeles and Atlantic City-based company, first announced the proposal in February of that year. The company has a tentative deal with the city to sell the vacant airfield for $100 million in exchange the real estate developer would donate $15 million for a community center. 'We don't have a recreation center of our town,' Small Sr. explained. 'We use the schools and different things like that.'
