Green Card Applicant Arrested By ICE While Driving To Grocery Store
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A Los Angeles doctor has told how she watched on FaceTime as her husband, a Tunisian musician with a pending green card application, was arrested by federal immigration agents on what she called "probably the worst day of my life."
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents pulled over Rami Othmane while he was driving to a grocery store in Pasadena on July 13 and pulled out the paperwork he was carrying, the Associated Press (AP) reported.
His wife, Dr. Wafaa Alrashid, who is a U.S. citizen and chief medical officer at Huntington Hospital, told the AP she watched events unfold over the video call, "They didn't care, they said, 'Please step out of the car," she recalled.
Alrashid said her husband has since been subjected to "inhumane treatment." The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) told California news station KABC in a statement that detainees recieve "proper meals, medical treatment, and have opportunities to communicate with lawyers and their family members."
Newsweek contacted the family via GoFundMe and the DHS via email for comment outside of office hours on Monday.
Why It Matters
Dr. Wafaa Alrashid, center, whose husband, Rami Othmane, a Tunisian musician, is detained at the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility, holds a sign during a rally outside the facility in Los Angeles Friday, July...
Dr. Wafaa Alrashid, center, whose husband, Rami Othmane, a Tunisian musician, is detained at the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility, holds a sign during a rally outside the facility in Los Angeles Friday, July 25, 2025. More
Jae C. Hong/AP
The administration is pushing forward with plans to carry out widespread deportations as part of President Donald Trump's immigration crackdown.
In addition to people living in the country without legal status, immigrants with valid documentation, including green cards and visas, have been detained. Newsweek has documented dozens of cases involving green card holders and applicants who were swept up in the ICE raids.
What To Know
Alrashid told the AP her husband has lived in the U.S. since 2015, and though he overstayed his initial visa, a deportation order against him was dismissed in 2020. They married in March 2025 and Othmane promptly filed for his green card, Alrashid said.
On learning her husband had been stopped, Alrashid got into her car and tracked his location on her phone, the AP reported. She reached the scene just in time to catch a glimpse of the outline of his head through the back window of a vehicle as it drove away, the agency said.
"Agents blocked his car, did not show a warrant and did not identify themselves," Othmane's family said in a GoFundMe set up to raise financial support.
The family said Othmane suffers from chronic pain and has an untreated tumor.
Othmane remains in federal custody at an immigration detention facility in Arizona.
"When they took him, he was wearing shorts and a t-shirt and flip-flops," Alrashid told a rally of fellow musicians, immigration advocates and activists outside the facility more than a week after his arrest.
"So he was freezing. Also, there are no beds, no pillows, no blankets, no soap, No toothbrushes and toothpaste. And when you're in a room with people, bathrooms open, there's no door. So it's very dehumanizing, it's undignifying, the food is not great either."
What People Are Saying
Dr. Wafaa Alrashid wrote in a post on GoFundMe: "This is not just an immigration issue—this is a human rights crisis happening in downtown Los Angeles. My husband has been subjected to 12 days of inhumane treatment in a federal building. He is not a criminal. He is a kind, peaceful man with an open immigration petition. He should be with his family, not sleeping on a concrete floor without medical care."
The Department of Homeland Security said in a statement to KABC: "Any allegations that detainees are not receiving medical care or conditions are "inhumane" are FALSE. All detainees are provided with proper meals, medical treatment, and have opportunities to communicate with lawyers and their family members."
What Happens Next
Othmane will remain in ICE custody, pending further removal proceedings.
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