Latest news with #stateless
The Guardian
18 hours ago
- Politics
- The Guardian
US tries to deport stateless Palestinian woman again despite judge's order
The US government has tried for the second time to deport a stateless Palestinian woman, according to court documents – despite a judge's order barring her removal. Ward Sakeik, a 22-year-old newlywed, was detained in February on her way home from her honeymoon in the US Virgin Islands. Last month, the government attempted to deport her without informing her where she was being sent, according to her husband, Taahir Shaikh. An officer eventually told her that she would be sent to the Israel border – just hours before Israel launched airstrikes on Iran. After her lawyers filed suit on her behalf, US district judge Ed Kinkeade issued an order on 22 June barring the government from deporting Sakeik or removing her from the Texas district where she is being detained while her case is decided. But on Monday, the government tried once again to deport her. Officers at the detention facility woke her up early in the morning on Monday, and told her she 'had to leave'. When she tried to tell the officer there was a court order blocking her removal, the officer responded: 'It's not up to me.' 'Sakeik informed me that when she arrived at intake, her belongings had been placed outside the door,' her lawyer testified in court documents. Sakeik's family is from Gaza, but she was born in Saudi Arabia, which does not grant birthright citizenship to the children of foreigners. She and her family came to the US on a tourist visa when she was eight and applied for asylum – but were denied. She has had deportation orders since she was nine years old, but she and her family were allowed to remain in Texas as long as they complied with requirements to check in with Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Eventually, she graduated from high school in Mesquite, Texas, earned a bachelor's degree from the University of Texas Arlington and started a wedding photography business. On 31 January, she had a wedding of her own. She applied for a green card, and the first stage of her application was approved. 'The past 12 months of my life have just been the highest of the highs and the lowest of the lows. You go from buying your first home, planning your dream wedding, attending that wedding, going on your honeymoon, to being separated for over 120 days,' said her husband, a US citizen, in a press conference in June. Due to Sakeik's immigration status, the couple had deliberately chosen not to travel internationally for their honeymoon, deciding to explore the Virgin Islands, a US territory, instead. On 11 February, a Customs and Border Protection officer stopped Sakeik and asked for proof she was under an 'order of supervision', allowing her to remain in the US despite deportation orders. Sakeik was kept handcuffed on the plane to Miami, according to ABC News, where the couple's flight back to Texas had a layover. The couple was told she would be released there. But she has been held in detention ever since. Sign up to This Week in Trumpland A deep dive into the policies, controversies and oddities surrounding the Trump administration after newsletter promotion Shaikh has struggled to cope in the weeks since. He sleeps in the guest room of the house they purchased together, rather than the master bed, he told the Dallas Morning News last month. 'I don't sit on my couch when I eat my meals, I sit on the floor,' he said, out of survivor's guilt. The Department of Homeland Security claimed that Sakeik was flagged because she 'chose to fly over international waters and outside the US customs zone and was then flagged by CBP trying to re-enter the continental US'. 'The facts are she is in our country illegally. She overstayed her visa and has had a final order by an immigration judge for over a decade,' said assistant secretary Tricia McLaughlin. McLaughlin did not address the Guardian's question about why the government tried to deport Sakeik despite a judge's order barring her removal.
CBS News
21 hours ago
- Politics
- CBS News
North Texas Palestinian woman freed after nearly five months in ICE custody
A North Texas woman was released Tuesday after spending nearly five months in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody, following her arrest in February while returning from her honeymoon — a case that drew mounting legal and public pressure, her attorneys said. Ward Sakeik, a 22-year-old Palestinian woman who has lived in the U.S. since childhood but holds no citizenship in any country, was picked up by her husband from Prairieland Detention Center, a medium-security ICE facility in Alvarado. The couple returned to their family home in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. Stateless and long-settled in Texas Born in Saudi Arabia to Palestinian parents, Sakeik came to the U.S. at age 8. She later attended the University of Texas at Arlington and currently runs a wedding photography business. Her lawyers said her "sudden release" came after ICE attempted to deport her from the country in "the early morning hours" of June 30. Ward Sakeik and husband, Taahir Shaikh Taahir Shaikh Arrested after honeymoon flight Immigration officials arrested her in February after a domestic flight from the U.S. Virgin Islands, where she had been honeymooning with her husband, Taahir Shaikh. Her legal team said ICE attempted to deport her twice — including once in violation of a federal court order — despite her pending green card application and marriage to a U.S. citizen. Tarmac confrontation and deportation threat According to her attorneys, ICE brought her onto the tarmac at Fort Worth Alliance Airport on June 12 and told her she would be sent to "the border of Israel" — despite her being stateless and lacking legal status in either Israel or the West Bank. Last month, Shaikh said he feared his wife could be deported to an undisclosed country. Lawyers condemn ICE actions In a news release, Eric Lee, one of her lawyers, called the deportation attempt a "brazenly unconstitutional" act, arguing it violated her due process rights. "Had we not intervened, she may very well be in a foreign country right now, separated from her family like so many others illegally deported to third countries," Lee said. "As the Supreme Court sits on its hands and lets this happen, the American people must stand up and oppose Trump's descent to dictatorship." Another attorney, Chris Godshall-Bennett, condemned the administration's immigration policies as "depraved," citing a pattern of harsh enforcement tactics. Broader criticism of immigration policy "The cruelty the government inflicted on Ward and her family puts in stark relief just how depraved this administration's immigration policies are," Godshall-Bennett said. "Let's be clear: Ward was arrested and almost deported simply because she is Palestinian and ICE thought they could get away with it. "The new American secret police are out of control, but the fault lies with generations of legislators who have happily demonized immigrants in their race to the fascistic bottom." ICE officials have not publicly commented on Sakeik's release. CBS News Texas reached out to the agency for a statement but had not received a response as of late Wednesday afternoon. Sakeik was held in ICE custody for 141 days.
CBS News
a day ago
- Politics
- CBS News
Stateless North Texas woman freed after nearly five months in ICE custody
A North Texas woman was released Tuesday after spending nearly five months in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody, following her arrest in February while returning from her honeymoon — a case that drew mounting legal and public pressure, her attorneys said. Ward Sakeik, a 22-year-old Palestinian woman who has lived in the U.S. since childhood but holds no citizenship in any country, was picked up by her husband from Prairieland Detention Center, a medium-security ICE facility in Alvarado. The couple returned to their family home in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. Stateless and long-settled in Texas Born in Saudi Arabia to Palestinian parents, Sakeik came to the U.S. at age 8. She later attended the University of Texas at Arlington and currently runs a wedding photography business. Her lawyers said her "sudden release" came after ICE attempted to deport her from the country in "the early morning hours" of June 30. Ward Sakeik and husband, Taahir Shaikh Taahir Shaikh Arrested after honeymoon flight Immigration officials arrested her in February after a domestic flight from the U.S. Virgin Islands, where she had been honeymooning with her husband, Taahir Shaikh. Her legal team said ICE attempted to deport her twice — including once in violation of a federal court order — despite her pending green card application and marriage to a U.S. citizen. Tarmac confrontation and deportation threat According to her attorneys, ICE brought her onto the tarmac at Fort Worth Alliance Airport on June 12 and told her she would be sent to "the border of Israel" — despite her being stateless and lacking legal status in either Israel or the West Bank. Last month, Shaikh said he feared his wife could be deported to an undisclosed country. Lawyers condemn ICE actions In a news release, Eric Lee, one of her lawyers, called the deportation attempt a "brazenly unconstitutional" act, arguing it violated her due process rights. "Had we not intervened, she may very well be in a foreign country right now, separated from her family like so many others illegally deported to third countries," Lee said. "As the Supreme Court sits on its hands and lets this happen, the American people must stand up and oppose Trump's descent to dictatorship." Another attorney, Chris Godshall-Bennett, condemned the administration's immigration policies as "depraved," citing a pattern of harsh enforcement tactics. Broader criticism of immigration policy "The cruelty the government inflicted on Ward and her family puts in stark relief just how depraved this administration's immigration policies are," Godshall-Bennett said. "Let's be clear: Ward was arrested and almost deported simply because she is Palestinian and ICE thought they could get away with it. "The new American secret police are out of control, but the fault lies with generations of legislators who have happily demonized immigrants in their race to the fascistic bottom." ICE officials have not publicly commented on Sakeik's release. CBS News Texas reached out to the agency for a statement but had not received a response as of late Wednesday afternoon. Sakeik was held in ICE custody for 141 days.
Yahoo
a day ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Newlywed Palestinian woman released from ICE custody after months in detention
Ward Sakeik -- a stateless Palestinian woman who was detained on her way back from her honeymoon -- has been released from ICE detention nearly five months after her arrest, her husband confirmed to ABC News. Sakeik, who is married to a U.S. citizen, was arrested at the St. Thomas Airport in the U.S. Virgin Islands in February. "The Trump administration's brazenly unconstitutional attempt to deport this young woman in violation of a federal court order should shock the conscience of every American. Had we not intervened, she may very well be in a foreign country right now, separated from her family like so many others illegally deported to third countries," Eric Lee, Sakeik's attorney, said in a statement Wednesday. MORE: Newlywed bride's honeymoon ends with months of ICE detention and the prospect of deportation The government had attempted to deport Sakeik twice -- the first of which was to Israel just hours before it launched its attack on Iran in June. The second attempt to deport her was made despite a federal judge ordering that she remain in the northern district of Texas and not be removed from the U.S. Sakeik's family is from Gaza, but she is legally stateless and has lived in the U.S. since she was 8 years old. Her family had traveled to the U.S. on a tourist visa and applied for asylum, according to Shaikh. MORE: Government attempts to deport stateless Palestinian woman again despite court order Sakeik was issued a deportation order more than a decade ago after her asylum case was denied, but she was permitted to stay in the U.S. under what's known as an "order of supervision," in which she was given a work permit and regularly checks in with federal immigration authorities, according to her attorney and her husband. The first stage of her Green Card application was approved last week, according to her husband, Taahir Shaikh. This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
The Guardian
a day ago
- Politics
- The Guardian
US tries to deport stateless Palestinian woman again despite judge's order
The US government has tried for the second time to deport a stateless Palestinian woman, according to court documents – despite a judge's order barring her removal. Ward Sakeik, a 22-year-old newlywed, was detained in February on her way home from her honeymoon in the US Virgin Islands. Last month, the government attempted to deport her without informing her where she was being sent, according to her husband, Taahir Shaikh. An officer eventually told her that she would be sent to the Israel border – just hours before Israel launched airstrikes on Iran. After her lawyers filed suit on behalf, US district judge Ed Kinkeade issued an order on 22 June barring the government from deporting Sakeik or removing her from the Texas district where she is being detained while her case is decided. But on Monday, the government tried once again to deport her. Officers at the detention facility woke her up early in the morning on Monday, and told her she 'had to leave'. When she tried to tell the officer there was a court order blocking her removal, the officer responded: 'It's not up to me.' 'Sakeik informed me that when she arrived at intake, her belongings had been placed outside the door,' her lawyer testified in court documents. Sakeik's family is from Gaza, but she was born in Saudi Arabia, which does not grant birthright citizenship to the children of foreigners. She and her family came to the US on a tourist visa when she was eight and applied for asylum – but were denied. She has had deportation orders since she was nine years old, but she and her family were allowed to remain in Texas as long as they complied with requirements to check in with Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Eventually, she graduated from high school in Mesquite, Texas, earned a bachelor's degree from the University of Texas Arlington and started a wedding photography business. On 31 January – she had a wedding of her own. She applied for a green card, and the first stage of her application was approved. 'The past 12 months of my life have just been the highest of the highs and the lowest of the lows. You go from buying your first home, planning your dream wedding, attending that wedding, going on your honeymoon, to being separated for over 120 days,' said her husband, a US citizen, in a press conference in June. Due to Sakeik's immigration status, the couple had deliberately chosen not to travel internationally for their honeymoon, deciding to explore the Virgin Islands, a US territory, instead. On 11 February, a Customs and Border Protection officer stopped Sakeik and asked for proof she was under an 'order of supervision', allowing her to remain in the US despite deportation orders. Sakeik was kept handcuffed on the plane to Miami, according to ABC News, where the couple's flight back to Texas had a layover. The couple was told she'd be released there. But she's been held in detention ever since. Shaikh has struggled to cope in the weeks since. He sleeps in the guest room of the house they purchased together, rather than the master bed, he told the Dallas Morning News last month. 'I don't sit on my couch when I eat my meals, I sit on the floor,' he said, out of survivor's guilt. The Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to the Guardian's questions about why the government attempted to deport Sakeik despite a judge's orders.
