Newsweek has confirmed in the ICE detention database that he is being held at the Northwest Detention Center. Newsweek reached out to ICE for comment via email on Friday.
Why It Matters
Chaudhry’s detention comes amid an immigration crackdown under the Trump administration, with the president having pledged to launch the largest mass deportation operation in United States history.
Immigrants residing in the country both illegally and legally, with valid documentation such as green cards and visas, as well as those with criminal histories, have been detained. Many with past convictions, even from decades ago, have found themselves in ICE custody despite spending years without facing serious immigration problems. Some U.S. citizens and those with valid visas have reportedly been swept up in immigration efforts as well.
What To Know
Chaudhry has lived in the U.S. for about 25 years, having served in the U.S. Army in the 1990s until the early 2000s, his wife Melissa Chaudhry told The Seattle Times. During his service, he sustained an injury that still affects his back and neck, leaving him wheelchair-bound, his wife said. He was discharged for medical reasons.
On Thursday, Chaudhry went to a “naturalization hearing” in Tukwila, Washington, as he is reportedly already a green card holder and has been working to obtain citizenship for years, Fox 13 Seattle reported.
Chaudhry reportedly faced deportation charges over a decade ago, when ICE sought to remove Chaudhry over a misdemeanor fraud charge from Australia, as reported by The Olympian. The local outlet also noted that he did not acknowledge that charge on his 2001 visa application, and in addition, he reportedly misrepresented his citizenship status on an application to become a reserve officer at the Yakima Police Department.
At the time, The Olympian reported that Chaudhry said he didn’t understand the ramifications of the Australia fraud charge and did not recall misrepresenting his citizenship on the reserve officer application.
Chaudhry has two young children with his wife, Melissa, who ran for Congress in 2024.
What People Are Saying
Melissa Chaudhry, Zahid’s wife and 2024 Candidate for Congress in Washington’s 9th District, said, in a statement: “ICE has stolen a beloved husband, a fiercely tender father, and a passionately patriotic American. We are all the poorer for it. My family will suffer every day he is apart from us and I have no idea when I will see Zahid again. In the truest spirit of Islam, Zahid has always stood for uplifting humanity. For doing good. For believing the best of people, and striving for peace. He came to this interview in good faith. ICE must release this decorated, disabled American veteran—return the heart of my family—and show the world that America still stands for justice and peace.”
Hannah Vickner Hough, Legal Director at Council on American-Islamic Relations’ (CAIR) Washington Chapter, said in a statement: “It is unusual for people to be taken into custody at a citizenship interview. However, we have seen that under this administration, Muslims are being targeted for unusually harsh immigration enforcement. Whatever the circumstances of an individual’s immigration process, the government needs to provide the due process protections when an individual is working their way through the immigration system.”
Tricia McLaughlin, a spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security, said in a previous statement shared with Newsweek: “Under Secretary Noem, we are delivering on President Trump’s and the American people’s mandate to arrest and deport criminal illegal aliens to make America safe. Secretary Noem unleashed ICE to target the worst of the worst and carry out the largest deportation operation of criminal aliens in American history.”
