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Military veteran being held in ICE custody in Tacoma
The Department of Homeland Security has released new information on Zahid Chaudhry, a green card holder who was detained while at an appointment to become a U.S. citizen.
TACOMA, Wash. - The Department of Homeland Security has released a press release with multiple claims against Muhammad "Zahid" Chaudhry, a U.S. Army veteran who has lived in the United States for the last 25 years.
What they're saying:
"They are insulting the service and the honor and integrity with which my husband has served this country and broken his body in that service," said Melissa Chaudhry, wife of Zahid Chaudhry.
She says DHS' latest press release reads "like a political hit job" and is a "smear campaign" against her husband who was at an appointment to get U.S. citizenship when he was detained by ICE.
Melissa Chaudhry is disgusted with what she says is DHS's "cherry picked information" about her husband's past in Australia and his service in the United States Army.
"[Zahid] was activated for Operation Iraqi Freedom and when you're a solider, you are under orders to go where you're told," said Melissa. "He was ordered to go for Iraqi Freedom to Germany and other places within the United States for training; it was during that training to be deployed that he was injured," said Melissa.
She says as her husband's 9th circuit appeals moves through the court system, his children cry for him as he remains locked up at the Northwest Ice Processing Center in Tacoma.
"[Zahid] is sick. He is deprived of medication for his thyroid, for the burning in his chest that keeps him up day and night," said Melissa. "He's kept in conditions that qualify as animal abuse if they were inflicted on pets."
Dig deeper:
The Council on American-Islamic Relations - Washington (CAIR - WA) released this statement to FOX 13 Seattle:
"We’ve seen a pattern of DHS under this administration engaging in smear tactics to high profile detainees, in order to shore up public opinion to back up their aggressive decisions. There is no need for the Department of Homeland Security to target Mr. Chaudhry’s personal life, especially while he is detained and separated from his family. Every person deserves dignity."
Micaela Romero, a Digital Organizer and Communication Associate with the Washington Community Action Network (WACAN) sent this statement in response to DHS' press release:
"I am appalled and disgusted by this baseless "rebuttal" to our community’s unrest, heartache, and attacks on our family members and loved ones. We’ve known Zahid as a member of WashingtonCAN for over 10 years, and in that time, and since his detainment, we have encountered hundreds of individuals with stories of how Zahid has impacted their lives and been a public servant to their communities. As we continue to show up in our other issue areas, people recognize us as being the organization fighting to bring their loved one and community member, Muhammad "Zahid" Chaudhry, home.
"It is on the duty of this administration to do a far better job than they’ve done to prove that Zahid Chaudhry is a worst fraudster and criminal than the Commander in Chief that sits at the helm of these cruel decisions tearing apart families. The community is tired of these deceptive attack on immigrants to silence the tangible gaps left when ICE abducts fathers from their children."
Melissa is urging supporters to reach out to elected leaders about her husband Zahid.
"Call out this beginning of a Gestapo that is forming in this country — that is ICE agents with very little oversight coming out with masks and grabbing people either off the street or out of their immigration hearings when they are complying with the rules," said Melissa.
You can read Melissa Chaudhry's full statement against DHS' claims against her husband on her substack.
The Source: Information in this story came from the Department of Homeland Security, the Council on American-Islamic Relations - Washington, the Washington Community Action Network and an interview with Melissa Chaudhry, wife of Zahid Chaudhry.
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