Advocates for refugees who assisted U.S. forces during the war in Afghanistan say a former interpreter was detained by ICE last week when he showed up for his first hearing at the federal immigration court in San Diego.
The June 12 incident was captured on video shared by the group AfghanEvac.
The man has asked to be identified only by his first name, Sayed, out of fear for his safety. AfghanEvac said he escaped Afghanistan after being targeted by the Taliban for being an interpreter for U.S. troops. The group said in July 2024, he was lawfully paroled into the U.S. after a CBP One appointment in San Ysidro, and has a pending Special Immigrant Visa and an active asylum application.
"June 12 was his very first hearing. He was there with his attorney," said AfghanEvac president Shawn VanDiver. "The government suddenly moved to dismiss the case ... because they said that the notice to appear had been improvidently issued, which means there was a mistake or something along those lines."
VanDiver said the government's lawyer has refused to clarify why the case was found to be improvident.
Why it matters
VanDiver said the case serves as a warning.
"No one can define it. There's no appeal. It's being weaponized to put lawful parole-compliant asylum seekers in cells and kicked out of the country," VanDiver said.
He said immigration detentions following court hearings are happening to people trying to get lawful status in the U.S.
"They've shut down refugees from coming here. They've canceled TPS (Temporary Protected Status). They're canceling parole, and now they're trying to dismiss cases for valid asylum seekers," he said. "This is a really dark time for our country, and I don't know how anybody anywhere in the world is going to trust the word of the United States, if this is how we treat our wartime allies once they get here."
Sayed remains in detention.
VanDiver said his attorneys plan to challenge the decision.
