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Rally to support disabled Army veteran detained by ICE
Hundreds of people showed up at the Northwest Detention Center on Sunday in Tacoma to protest the ICE detainment of a husband and father of two, Muhammad Zahid Chaudhry.
TACOMA, Wash. - Hundreds of people showed up at the Northwest Detention Center on Sunday in Tacoma to protest the ICE detainment of a husband and father of two, Muhammad Zahid Chaudhry.
His wife Melissa says he is a legal green card holder and is also a disabled veteran, injured during his time in the service.
According to CAIR, the Council on American-Islamic Relations, Zahid Chaudhry was at a naturalization hearing in Tukwilia when he was detained.
Melissa says he is a devoted father and family man and a community leader who advocates heavily for veterans.
She spoke as part of the "emergency protest" Sunday, calling for his release.
"This is an incredible show of support on 48 hours notice," she said.
Melissa says Zahid was born in Pakistan, and lived in the US for 25 years. Although he remains in detainment, she said she was finally allowed to talk to him behind a barrier of plexiglass this weekend.
"His beaming smile is the same. Bless his beautiful heart. He is under a lot of pressure. He is psychologically extremely lonely and being kept in isolation. He is having a lot of difficulty getting any communication out," said Melissa.
Melissa says Zahid signed up to serve the county before 911,and was severely injured during training, and worries about his health.
"He was on active duty, activated for Iraqi Freedom. He suffered multiple injuries to his back and his neck, at least one of which included a trampling by his brother soldiers in full battle rattle as they were leaping off a truck," said Melissa. She is pictured speaking to the crowd below Sunday.
"We are calling for his immediate release and naturalization," said Micaela Romero, digital organizer and communication, Washington Community Action Network (WACAN). "This is us coming together the way he would want. Zahid is a light in our community. We are just demanding he get the citizenship that he deserved."
Melissa says he is active with a local chapter of "Veterans for Peace". Zahid previously spoke to FOX 13 during a memorial tribute to UW graduate Aysenur Eygi in September 2024 after she was shot and killed by Israeli forces in the West Bank.
"I couldn’t hold my tears yesterday, it’s Rachel Corrie all over again. Twenty-one years ago, it was Rachel Corrie," said Zahid, during that 2024 interview. He was referencing another local woman who was killed by an Israeli bulldozer back in 2003. The picture below is from that interview.
"He was doing it the right way, and they arrested him and have him in there now," said Alex Scheel, member of About Face: Veterans Against the War. "His detainment is totally unjustified. He was going to his regular appointments."
Scheel says he didn't know Zahid personally, but understands his advocacy as a fellow veteran.
"We all learn lessons in the miliary. We all have different experiences, but us in "About Face" and "Veterans for Peace" understand that the wars that happen over there, the occupations that happen over in Palestine and Iraq and Afghanistan and Somalia all over the world, come back and haunt us," said Scheel.
Romero says the protest Sunday is part of "a week of action" by WACAN.
As for next steps, Melissa says Zahid was given a stay by a judge from the 9th circuit court, so the family is working on getting him released so he can work on his legal case from home.
"We are asking the judge for a custody re-determination, saying he does not have to be kept behind bars. He has always shown up for all of his hearings. He’s not a flight risk, not a threat. Bring him back to us while things work their way through," said Melissa.
"If we believe in the constitution, then immigration is a civil matter, not criminal, and no one should be kept behind bars like this."
FOX 13 reached out to ICE to ask why he was detained, and we are waiting to hear back.
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The Source: Information in this story came from original reporting by FOX 13 Seattle's Jennifer Dowling.