Former Afghan interpreter for U.S. military detained by ICE after routine immigration appointment

An Afghan immigrant who helped U.S. troops deployed into the war against the Taliban was arrested and detained by federal immigration agents last week.

Zia S., 35, was picked up by the agents after a routine appointment related to his pending green card application. If deported, his attorneys and brother said, he would face a significant risk of being harmed or killed by the Taliban due to his history as an interpreter for the U.S. military in the early 2000s.

His family asked WBUR not disclose his full name due to concerns of the Taliban retaliating against his relatives in Afghanistan.

“ He's in fear. He's in so much stress and he's worried about his family. He's in shock. He doesn't like even to talk,” said his brother, Tariq S., now a U.S. citizen who also worked with the U.S. military as an interpreter.

Zia’s arrest — first reported by the The New Haven Independent — is the latest case of federal authorities detaining immigrants with legal status during immigration check-ins. The case, along with a recent San Diego arrest, have some former Afghan interpreters concerned that the Trump administration has abandoned wartime allies seeking safety in the U.S. after the Taliban's 2021 return to power.

At a virtual press conference Tuesday, elected officials in Massachusetts and Connecticut slammed the Trump administration for what they describe as a betrayal of those who risked their lives and homes to help U.S. troops.

Massachusetts Rep. Bill Keating called Zia’s detention “inexcusable.”

“ If we don't speak up, if we don't act, if we don't let the laws of this country and the word of the United States government mean anything, that'll be the message going forward: It doesn't matter if you play by the rules. It doesn't matter that you risk your lives. It doesn't matter whether you trusted the military people that you were working with. None of that matters,” Keating said.

In a statement, a senior official at the Department of Homeland Security confirmed the arrest and said, without elaborating or providing evidence, that Zia “is currently under investigation for a serious criminal allegation.”

"All of his claims will be heard by a judge," the statement read. "Any Afghan who fears persecution is able to request asylum."

ICE spokesperson James Covington said the agency could not comment further while the investigation is ongoing.

Both of Zia’s attorneys and his brother said they were unaware he was the subject of an investigation until Tuesday morning, when a WBUR reporter asked for comment.

“He’s never done anything wrong,” Tariq said. “He’s never done any crime. He’s a very good person.”

Michael Nam-Krane, a Boston attorney representing Zia in a habeas case in Boston federal court, called the allegations “baseless,” a “political machination,” and said he’s confident his client will be vindicated.

Zia supported U.S. armed forces in Afghanistan from 2005 to 2009 according to his lawyer. It was dangerous work, his brother recalled. Once, Tariq said, the Taliban kidnapped another of their brothers and tortured him for months. It was Zia they’d been looking for, Tariq said, but he was away at the time.

“All Afghans in Afghanistan, after they've helped U.S. troops, they basically have a target on their backs from that moment on,” said Lauren Petersen, one of Zia’s attorneys.

Zia and his family fled Afghanistan after the Taliban seized control in 2021. They spent the following three years in Pakistan. Based on Zia’s service, they were eventually given the green light to come live in the United States. In October 2024, the Biden administration paroled the family into the country and put them on the path for Special Immigrant Visas, putting them on a pathway to citizenship. They now live in a suburb of New Haven.

On July 16, at around 9:30 a.m., Zia was surrounded by six ICE agents, some in masks, as he left his appointment at an East Hartford immigration facility, according to his brother and his attorneys.

The agents forced him into an unmarked van and took him first to an ICE field office in Hartford for booking, and then to the Plymouth County Correctional Facility in Massachusetts, where he remained as of Tuesday morning, Petersen said. A witness to the arrest, who accompanied Zia for his appointment, later told Petersen and Tariq what had happened.

ICE immediately placed Zia on expedited removal, fast-tracking his deportation and limiting his options in immigration court, Petersen said.

“For years he was trying to figure out a way to get to safety in the United States,” said Petersen. “Getting picked up by ICE is so hurtful and feels like such a betrayal. It's not just confusing, it's really, really, deeply hurtful to him.”

Nam-Krane filed a habeas corpus petition in federal court the following day, alleging due process violations and requesting a judge order Zia’s immediate release.

Federal judge Leo Sorokin in Boston issued an order on July 18 barring the government from deporting or transferring Zia to a facility outside Massachusetts without 72 hours prior notice to the court.

Sorokin's order gave the government a week to respond to the habeas petition.

Tariq said his brother is the main provider for his wife and five children, ages 7 to 18.

“They're in a very scary situation," he said. "His kids don't even go out and play.  They don't even want to go out because they're scared.”

Nam-Krane said Zia is entitled to seek asylum and become a U.S. citizen given his service to the U.S. in Afghanistan.

“Here is a person who, like our servicepeople, wrote a blank check to our country because he knew that working in that environment could cost him his life,” Nam-Krane said. “Not a proud moment for us.”

This story has been updated with additional information from Zia's attorney on how long he worked with the U.S. military and on his family's visa path.