Latest news with #stateless
CBS News
2 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
3 hours 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
7 hours 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
12 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 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.
Daily Mail
3 days ago
- Politics
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE Revealed: Notorious Rochdale grooming gang paedophile builds new house in Pakistan village while getting £285k taxpayer handout to fight deportation battle
A ringleader of the notorious Rochdale grooming gang has built a house in his native Pakistan - despite receiving £285,000 of taxpayers' money in a battle against being deported. Furious neighbours of Abdul Rauf in Rochdale say they are terrified to let their children out of sight after the 55-year-old was released having served just two-and-a-half years of a six-year prison sentence. The convicted paedophile was told he would be deported back to Pakistan after completing his sentence in 2014 - but he remains living in the Greater Manchester town more than a decade later. Rauf claims to be stateless after renouncing his Pakistani nationality - however his claim to have cut ties have now been thrown into doubt. Neighbours in the remote village which he left to move to Britain in the 1990s have revealed that the father-of-five has paid for a house to be built there. They said his intention was to live in it when he is finally kicked out of the UK. They also contradicted his claim during his battle against deportation that he would be at risk in Pakistan due to 'public opinion' because of his convictions, saying his family remains 'influential' there. Rauf was one of a nine-strong gang of Asian men who sexually assaulted 47 girls, some as young as 12, after plying them with drink and drugs. Furious neighbours of Rochdale grooming gang ringleader Abdul Rauf (pictured) say they are terrified to let their children out of sight - after discovering he's still living freely on their street, having used a legal loophole to dodge deportation Their conviction in 2012 shocked the country and sparked years of campaigning by victims which earlier this month finally prompted Sir Keir Starmer to agree to a national inquiry into the grooming gangs scandal. Rauf - who moved to the UK in 1997 - lost an appeal against being stripped of British nationality in 2018. But he appealed against deportation on the grounds he had already renounced his Pakistani citizenship and would therefore be rendered stateless. Rauf has received a staggering £285,000 in legal aid as he bids to avoid being thrown out of the country, it emerged earlier this year. Despite losing the case, he remains in Rochdale where he works as a takeaway delivery driver as Pakistan won't accept him without valid travel documents. But inquiries by MailOnline in his home village of Charhoi in Pakistan-administered Kashmir suggest he has retained close links. According to villagers who know the family, he has sent back money to fund the construction of a new house near the bazaar with the intention of living there himself. They said he initially allowed his elder brother to live there with his family - but had now asked him to vacate the building. The convicted paedophile, 55, was one of nine men jailed in 2012 for raping and trafficking vulnerable girls across northern England in a case that shocked the country. Rauf was told he would be deported to Pakistan in 2014 after serving just two-and-a-half years of a six-year prison sentence – but he remains in the UK more than a decade later Locals in the village of Charhoi in Pakistan-administered Kashmir say convicted paedophile Abdul Rauf has funded the construction of a house with the intention of living there when he is finally deported According to villager in Charhoi, Rochdale grooming gang member Abdul Rauf's conviction would not be widely discussed if he is sent back as his family is 'influential' 'His brother lived there for few months but came back to his old home when his children told him to leave Abdul Rauf's home and go back to his old one,' the resident said. As part of his 2022 appeal against deportation, Rauf claimed that if he was sent back to Pakistan 'I would be at risk due to the public opinion of the criminal conviction' and would not be 'protected' by the authorities there. But a villager cast doubt on his claim, saying that while locals knew about the case, he would be safe as a result of his family ties. 'Since they are influential and financially strong people in their street, this topic was not much discussed,' the resident said. Before his conviction, Rauf was seen as a pillar of Rochdale's Muslim community because of his role as a 'qari', a cleric who reads from the Koran. But the men's trial heard how he trafficked a 15-year-old girl for sex, driving her to secluded areas to have sex with her in his taxi and ferrying her to a flat in Rochdale where he and others had sex with her. This week neighbours of the terraced house in Rochdale where Rauf still lives accused him of throwing parties with 'loads of people' coming and going. One woman said she was told by police that he had 'done his time' when she demanded that they remove him. Angie Harrison, 45, a mum of two girls aged seven and eight, said: 'He has loads of people there, having parties and we don't like the look of the people who come.' Locals spoke of their disgust that he is still allowed to live in the same town where he carried out his vile crimes. One mother, who lives just a few doors away, said: 'Nobody can believe that monster is still here, after what he did to those young girls. 'It's disgusting. What is the country coming to? Why is he still here? 'He was living in that house when he was offending, my kids used to go around and play with his kids.' The case comes amid anger at ministers' failure to deport dangerous foreign criminals. Another member of the paedophile ring, Adil Khan, 55, also remains in Rochdale despite losing an appeal against deportation as he also renounced Pakistani citizenship. One of the ringleaders of the gang, Abdul Aziz, 54, cannot be deported because he renounced his Pakistani citizenship before being stripped of British nationality. Foreign Secretary David Lammy is currently understood to be leading discussions with Pakistan in a bid to secure the return of Rauf and Khan. Just last week a review into the grooming gangs scandal by Dame Louise Casey criticised officials for ' shying away' from 'uncomfortable' questions about the ethnicity of rapists preying on young girls. In one case, the Whitehall troubleshooter revealed she had found the word 'Pakistani' Tippexed out of a child sex abuse file.
