FBI flagged former Afghan interpreter as alleged national security risk before ICE arrest

Federal immigration authorities revoked the residency status of a former Afghan interpreter who worked with U.S. troops during the war against the Taliban because information from the FBI indicated he is “a risk to the national security of the United States,” prosecutors claimed in a court filing issued Friday.

The attorneys for the Department of Homeland Security did not provide any evidence to support the claim in the response, which was filed at the federal courthouse in Boston.

The interpreter, Zia S., provided assistance to U.S. troops in Afghanistan between 2005 and 2009. His brother Tariq said his collaboration with U.S. Armed Forces puts his entire family at risk of retaliation by the Taliban. Zia, his wife and five children fled Afghanistan in 2021, after the Taliban seized control of the country. After spending three years in Pakistan, they were paroled into the U.S. in October 2024.

WBUR agreed not to disclose Zia or Tariq’s full names due to safety concerns for their relatives in Afghanistan.

Masked ICE agents arrested Zia on July 16 outside an immigration office in East Hartford, Connecticut, as he left a routine appointment for his green card application. They then issued him an expedited removal order, in effect fast-tracking his deportation. Since then, he’s been held at the Plymouth County Correctional Facility in Massachusetts.

Attorneys for Zia challenged his arrest and detention as unlawful. Attorney Michael Nam-Krane, filed suit in a Boston federal court, alleging due process violations and calling for a judge to order Zia’s release. A judge later barred ICE from transferring or deporting Zia while the case plays out.

In response, prosecutors said Friday that ICE terminated Zia’s parole after receiving information from the FBI. They also again asserted that the federal court lacks jurisdiction.

Nam-Krane said the federal filing “doesn’t say very much.”

“They basically say the FBI thinks he's a national security risk, which — what does that mean?” he said.

FBI spokesperson Anthony Costanza declined to comment, citing the pending court matter.

The court filing includes a signed declaration from John Charpentier, ICE’s acting deputy field office director in Massachusetts. In it, he said ICE agents in Hartford got the FBI’s information on May 24. Eight days after arresting Zia, Charpentier said he issued Zia a letter notifying him that his parole was terminated because "neither humanitarian reasons nor the public benefit" warranted its continuance.

Friday’s court filing said ICE placed Zia’s removal on hold because he claims he’s afraid of returning to Afghanistan and is entitled to what’s called a “credible fear interview” with an asylum officer.

Lauren Petersen, Zia's immigration attorney, said the interview has not yet been scheduled. Nam-Krane said he’ll reply to the government’s filing by Aug. 15.