By Katie Walker for Runta News-Seattle, Washington
The Washington state chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-WA), a chapter of the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, today called on Federal authorities to release prominent community member and veteran Muhammad Zahid Chaudhry from immigration detention.
Muhammad Zahid Chaudhry was taken into ICE detention today, August 21, at a citizenship interview at the USCIS office in Tukwila, Washington. Zahid, who uses a wheelchair, is an immigrant originally from Pakistan who has lived in the U.S. for 25 years. He is a member of the Olympia chapter of Veterans for Peace, and has two young children with his wife, Melissa Chaudhry.
Melissa Chaudhry, Zahid’s wife and 2024 Candidate for Congress in Washington’s 9th District, said, in a statement:
“ICE has stolen a beloved husband, a fiercely tender father, and a passionately patriotic American. We are all the poorer for it. My family will suffer every day he is apart from us and I have no idea when I will see Zahid again. In the truest spirit of Islam, Zahid has always stood for uplifting humanity. For doing good. For believing the best of people, and striving for peace. He came to this interview in good faith. ICE must release this decorated, disabled American veteran—return the heart of my family—and show the world that America still stands for justice and peace.”
Hannah Vickner Hough, Legal Director at CAIR-WA, said, in a statement:
“It is unusual for people to be taken into custody at a citizenship interview. However, we have seen that under this administration, Muslims are being targeted for unusually harsh immigration enforcement. Whatever the circumstances of an individual’s immigration process, the government needs to provide the due process protections when an individual is working their way through the immigration system.”
There has been a stark uptick in vulnerable Muslims being targeted by the Trump Administration, including the case of Tuan Phan – a Vietnamese-American Washingtonian who, after serving a 25-year prison sentence, was inexplicably deported to South Sudan. Additionally, this past spring, many Afghan Americans with lawful statuses received emails telling them to leave the country.
CAIR’s mission is to protect civil rights, enhance understanding of Islam, promote justice, and empower American Muslims.
