Judge orders release of US Army Veteran from ICE detention in Tacoma, WA
U.S. Army veteran released from ICE custody
U.S. Army veteran Zahid Chaudhry, who was detained by ICE at the Northwest Detention Center in Tacoma for months, has been released from ICE custody.
TACOMA, Wash. - A U.S. Army veteran who was detained at the Northwest Detention Center in Tacoma has been released from ICE custody.
He'd been at the detention center since August.
Zahid Chaudhry said that he was looking forward to going home and says that he never thought that, as a disabled vet, he would be detained for so long.
Zahid Chaudhry
Chaudhry said he was feeling wonderful as he left the Tacoma Ice Processing Center for the first time in months.
"I am a patriotic American solider. I thought that it would never happen, that this kind of erroneous thing, that four months, two days in this kind of detention, would never happen, should never happen to any disabled decorated American veteran," said Muhammad Zahid Chaudry, who was released from detention Monday.
He was greeted by his wife, who'd been fighting for his release since he was first taken into custody.
Timeline:
According to his family, Chaudhry is a green card holder who was detained while at an appointment to become a U.S. citizen back in August. On Monday morning, his case was heard by a federal judge, who ultimately granted his release.
"Our family gets to be whole again and the very first sentence out of the government attorney’s mouth, an apology. She said, ‘We apologize to the petitioner and we apologize to the court,'" said Melissa Chaudhry, Zahid Chaudhry's wife.
What they're saying:
When we previously asked the Department of Homeland Security why he was detained, they told us Chaundhry hid his criminal history from the U.S. government, and also falsely claimed he was deployed to Iraq.
However, Chaudhry's wife told us she believed it was all a smear campaign against the disabled veteran, saying he has no criminal record in America.
"He uses a wheelchair because he was injured on active duty. He has also served as a firefighter and a paramedic, and he’s served his community every way he can since," Melissa Chaudhry said.
"It’s a good day for justice in America when an honorable and decorated disabled American veteran stands to protect innocent Americans, and he’s been witch-hunted and prosecuted for that for 26 years," said Zahid Chaudry.
The thing he's most looking forward to now after release is to spend time with family.
"Spend time with my two kids and my wife," Zahid said.
The Washington State Chapter of the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR-WA) also sent out a statement praising U.S. District Court Judge David Estudillo for releasing Zahid from the detention center.
Part of the statement from CAIR-WA is below:
"The Washington state chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-WA), a chapter of the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, today praised U.S. District Court Judge David G Estudillo for releasing prominent Muslim community member and veteran Muhammad Zahid Chaudhry from immigration detention.
"Muhammad Zahid Chaudhry was taken into ICE detention on August 21, 2025, at a citizenship interview at the USCIS office in Tukwila, Washington. He has been held at the Northwest ICE Processing Center since then, separated from his wife and two young children. During a habeas hearing today, December 22, Judge Estudillo said he’s ordering Mr. Chaudhry freed from ICE detention in Tacoma, to be released the same day.
"In a time of grave injustice, today’s news provided much needed hope to our community. We applaud the court’s decision, and hope that this is only the first step in ensuring Zahid is freed permanently," said Imraan Siddiqi, Executive Director at CAIR-WA."
FOX 13 also reached out to ICE and DHS for comment on the decision, and we are waiting to hear back.
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The Source: Information in this story came from the Washington State Chapter of the Council on American Islamic Relations and original FOX 13 Seattle reporting and interviews.