Latest news with #asylum
.jpeg%3Ftrim%3D0%2C0%2C0%2C0%26width%3D1200%26height%3D800%26crop%3D1200%3A800&w=3840&q=100)
The Independent
7 hours ago
- Politics
- The Independent
Texas man returns from honeymoon alone after wife is arrested by ICE in US Virgin Islands
A recently-married Texas couple has spent over 120 days apart after the bride was detained by ICE during their honeymoon in the US Virgin Islands. Taahir Shaikh of Arlington says his wife, Ward Sakeik, was detained by ICE in February in St. Thomas, despite having a pending green card application and documentation of her stateless status. 'She's considered stateless, which essentially just means you're born in a country that doesn't give you birthright citizenship. And since she was a Palestinian refugee that was born in Saudi Arabia, they weren't recognized as Saudi nationals,' Shaikh told NBC DFW. Shaikh said Sakeik was just 8 years old when her family arrived in the U.S. on a visa. Although their asylum request was denied, her lack of citizenship meant the government couldn't deport them. Instead, they were placed under an order of supervision and required to check in with immigration authorities once a year. Sakeik was just 8 when her family arrived in America on a visa, her husband told the outlet. Although their asylum request was denied, their lack of citizenship meant the government couldn't deport them. Instead, they were placed under an order of supervision and required to check in with immigration authorities once a year. Since then, Sakeik has graduated from the University of Texas at Arlington and now works as a wedding photographer. She has always complied with immigration rules for 14 years, Shaikh said. Sakeik is currently being held at Prairieland Detention Center in Alvarado after spending months detained in McAllen, as her green card application remains stalled due to her detention. The couple has spent the first months of their marriage communicating through weekly visits and video calls. 'She constantly says, 'When I get through this phase of my life, what am I not able to endure after this?'' Shaikh told the outlet about his wife. He says they carefully chose to travel to the U.S. Virgin Islands for their honeymoon, believing it wouldn't jeopardize her pending immigration status. The couple's legal team is doing everything possible to prevent her from being deported. Though stateless individuals in removal proceedings are typically eligible for release after 90 days, Sakeik has now been held for over 120. ICE addressed Sakeik's arrest in a statement to NBC DFW, writing, 'The arrest of Ward Sakeik was not part of a targeted operation by ICE. She chose to leave the country and was then flagged by CBP trying to re-enter the U.S. 'The facts are she is in our country illegally. She overstayed her visa and has had a final order by an immigration judge for over a decade. President Trump and Secretary Noem are committed to restoring integrity to the visa program and ensuring it is not abused to allow aliens a permanent one-way ticket to remain in the U.S.' ICE concluded, 'She had a final order of removal since 2011. Her appeal of the final order was dismissed by the Board of Immigration Appeals on February 12, 2014. She has exhausted her due process rights and all of her claims for relief have been denied by the courts.'
ABC News
7 hours ago
- Health
- ABC News
Brisbane refugee healthcare service World Wellness Group is at risk of losing its home base again
Like so many refugees, the story of how Elham Zaki came to live in Australia is punctuated by dark chapters. WARNING: This story contains distressing content. She's been subject to horrors that are difficult to put into words: organ harvesting, attempted murder, rape, abuse and half a lifetime of fear. In 2013, when she was working at a refugee camp on the Libya-Egypt border, a brush with death led the United Nations to rule it was no longer safe for her to stay, and she had to seek asylum. "Some people poisoned me and tried to kill me and [that's when I was taken in] an ambulance to Cairo [and then sent to Australia]," she said. The suffering Ms Zaki endured, both before and after she arrived in Australia, took its toll. She experienced debilitating physical and mental health issues which were so severe she could barely move or talk. She refused to venture outside for years, fearing the world and people around her. "I feared that people were going to beat me, do something bad. I was scared of any man," she said. She was referred to a clinic in Brisbane's south — the World Wellness Group. The not-for-profit, social enterprise healthcare service is a one-stop-shop for both medical and holistic support services. There, Ms Zaki was able to get treatment from physiotherapists, general practitioners, support groups and mental health specialists. The clinic also became her safe space. She remembered an occasion when she said she hadn't eaten a proper meal in two days and her GP gave her some food from the community pantry. "Before, [I was] very sad all the time, crying and I think [I don't know how I can get better]," she said. "But after I came here for the first time, I thought [I can]." World Wellness Group co-founder and director Rita Prasad-Ildes said she saw clients like Ms Zaki several times a day. "It's really proven to us that this is the way we can work with population groups that are constantly falling through the gaps and have a lot of access barriers," she said. But the clinic is facing an uncertain road ahead as the building it's been operating out of for less than a year is up for sale. Ms Prasad-Idles said if they were forced to relocate again — in what would be the fifth time in 10 years — they'd struggle to find another base. "We have really been priced out of commercial rentals," she said. She said the organisation would only be able to afford a clinical building in the outer suburbs, potentially forcing their booming clientele base — which, on average, currently travels more than 20km to see them — to travel further for the care they so desperately need. The organisation has been rallying to raise funds to buy the space themselves, but they're currently $600,000 short of the $4 million needed. The group had quietly raised more than $3.4 million over the past year, all while dealing with ever-growing demand for its services. Now, the July 31 deadline they've been given before the building hits the market is looming. Ms Prasad-Idles said the crowdfunding operation was about the survival and sustainability of the clinic, and their ability to continue helping more than 3,400 patients. "It isn't really about a building; it's about having a space — an anchor," she said. "Our whole work team here — we're all migrants. I think the migration journey is always about finding a home, and this is our home." Ms Zaki said she owed her life to the organisation. After years of living in fear and solitude, and months of mental health treatment, Ms Zaki said she had finally been able to go outside — a small victory in the wake of devastating trauma. But more than going outside, she's now started a Master of Public Health at University and is an avid volunteer in her community.
The Sun
9 hours ago
- Politics
- The Sun
Rape charge against asylum seeker in taxpayer-funded hotel kept quiet to avoid inflaming ‘community tension in cover up'
A RAPE charge against a man staying in an asylum hotel was kept quiet — as officials feared inflaming 'community tension'. There were also two other rape cases where it was not disclosed that the suspects were in taxpayer-funded asylum hotels. Shadow Justice Secretary Robert Jenrick said the 'perception of a migrant cover-up' was growing. He went on: 'The illegal small-boat crossings are a national security emergency. "We've seen terrorism, murders and rapes from those who've come here illegally. It's outrageous. 'Women in towns with asylum hotels shouldn't have to live in fear. The authorities must trust the public with the truth and act to protect them.' The rape suspects were all housed in Home Office-funded accommodation in Portsmouth, London and Manchester. At Portsmouth, the alleged rape was followed by a concerted effort to keep secret the suspect's link to an asylum hotel. He was charged with rape and voyeurism after the alleged attack on a woman on June 11. Police confirmed to The Sun he had been at the Royal Beach Hotel in Southsea, used to house asylum seekers. The man appeared at Portsmouth magistrates' court on June 16. He was remanded in custody and is no longer at the hotel. No statement was issued about the case but Portsmouth City Council officials were briefed privately. The Sun understands councillors were warned not to speak about the suspect's housing, with one council officer raising fears about 'community tension' if it was known. Another senior official privately urged Portsmouth Independents Party leader Cllr George Madgwick not to share 'privileged confidential information' after he took to social media to express his frustration. 4 4 Cllr Madgwick said: 'This is precisely why the public don't trust politicians and public bodies: things are hidden that should be disclosed. Anyone involved in any form of cover-up from disclosure to the public should question their role in a publicly funded position.' Reform UK leader Nigel Farage said last night: 'The council officials who hid the truth about these serious allegations should immediately face the sack. "Decent people are getting angrier every day.' Portsmouth City Council effectively admitted it chose not to go public, saying it was informed of the charge ahead of the court hearing but left public statements to police. A spokesman said: 'We knew the Home Office accommodation link would become public knowledge through the court proceedings and, based on events elsewhere in the country, were conscious there may be community tensions related to it.' Girl 'sex ordeal' EXCLUSIVE By Alex Diaz A MIGRANT living at an asylum seeker hotel raped a vulnerable 17-year-old girl, a court heard. Mohammed Akbari, 23, allegedly attacked her in bushes after they arranged to go to a park, having first met at a hospital. The teen felt dizzy after Akbari, from Iran, gave her an alcoholic drink, Uxbridge magistrates' court heard. She allegedly told him to stop the assault, in Harmondsworth, West London, on June 9. He claims she consented to sex. Akbari arrived in the UK last year, claiming he is Christian and at risk in Iran. He is in custody and will return to court on July 18. Two similar cases also saw no public statements issued about the suspects' links to asylum housing. One involved a 27-year-old man staying at a hotel in Kensington, West London. He faces multiple charges over a serious sex attack, including rape and attempted rape. He pleaded not guilty on June 2 and was remanded in custody before a trial in October. In Manchester, a Jordanian with an asylum claim under way was charged with rape while living at a Home Office-contracted hotel. He appeared at Tameside magistrates' court last month and was remanded in custody until a crown court hearing next week. The man, 34, has yet to enter a plea. Meanwhile, an asylum seeker in a hotel in Yorkshire was charged with raping a girl aged 13 to 15 last Boxing Day. 4 Last night the Government said: 'We have taken action to ban foreign nationals who commit sexual offences from being granted asylum.' Our revelations come after an illegal migrant was jailed for raping a girl of 15, amid claims he did not understand 'cultural differences'. Afghan national Sadeq Nikzad, 29, pounced on the teen in Falkirk in October 2023. Defence counsel Janice Green told the High Court in Livingston there was a 'cultural barrier' with Nikzad's home nation where child marriage is common. There is no suggestion any of the accused in the three latest rape cases are linked to grooming gangs. But the issue of alleged criminality by illegal arrivals was raised in an official report this week. A damning review by Dame Louise Casey found they are involved in a 'significant proportion' of live police investigations into child sex grooming gangs. The report found police and council leaders covered up the scale of Asian grooming gangs since concerns were first raised in 2009 as they feared being called racist or raising community tensions. 'Axe hate team' By Martina Bet LABOUR'S work on a definition of Islamophobia threatens to shut down efforts to tackle grooming gangs, a report has warned. The party's working group on anti-Muslim hate should be suspended immediately until after the new inquiry into the scandal, think tank Policy Exchange says. Report co-author Sir John Jenkins said a definition would be an 'undeniable act of two-tier policy'. The group says even a non-binding definition risks silencing victims. It comes days after Baroness Casey's report said officials failed to mention that perpetrators were Asian for fear of appearing racist.
Daily Mail
11 hours ago
- Politics
- Daily Mail
Bride was overjoyed to marry love of her life... until ICE spotted her as she arrived in US Virgin Islands for HONEYMOON
A delighted newlywed arrived in the US Virgin Islands for a honeymoon with her handsome husband, only to be abruptly detained by ICE and taken into custody. Ward Sakeik, from Arlington, Texas, remains in ICE detention after she was arrested in February when she and her new husband Taahir Shaikh were stopped by authorities on St Thomas Shaikh said the couple had just arrived to begin their honeymoon when photographer wife was detained, despite having proof of a unique circumstance documents and a pending green card application. 'The past 12 months of my life has just been the highest of the highs and the lowest of the lows,' he told NBC5. 'You go from buying your first home, planning your dream wedding, attending that wedding, going on your honeymoon, to being separated for over 120 days.' Sakeik was born in Saudi Arabia as a Palestinian refugee. She has been considered stateless her whole life because Saudi officials did not recognize her as a national. She was eight when her family came to the US to apply for asylum, but when the asylum request was denied, the US couldn't deport them because they had no citizenship. Instead, Sakeik's family were given an order of supervision and were required to check in with immigration officials annually, leaving her in a legal limbo that was only discovered when she went on her honeymoon. Sakeik was born in Saudi Arabia as a Palestinian refugee, and has been stateless her whole life after US officials rejected her family's asylum application when she was eight but allowed them to stay in the country Living her whole life as a stateless person living in the US, Shaikh said his wife has always complied with the annual immigration check-ups and never expected to be detained. Shaikh said they believed the US Virgin Islands was a safe location for them to travel to celebrate their nuptials. 'We felt we did our due diligence, and we were very intentional. There's a reason we chose the U.S. Virgin Islands,' he said. Sakeik, a graduate of UT Arlington and a wedding photographer, was taken to Texas after she was detained in the Caribbean. She spent several months in the McAllen Detention Center in Texas, and is now in Prairieland Detention Center in Alvarado, Texas. As newlyweds, the couple said their first months as a married couple have been far from what they expected when they tied the knot at the start of the year. Shaikh said they can only communicate through video calls and weekly visitations. 'She constantly says, 'When I get through this phase of my life, what am I not able to endure after this?'' he said. According to the Center for Migration Studies, when a stateless person is detained they can be released from custody after 90 days. But Sakeik has been held for over 120 days, and her new husband says he has received no communication from ICE officials. Her green card application will also remain on hold while she is detained, and the couple say they are hiring immigration lawyers in hopes that she can be freed. 'I need people to realize that this is someone who has complied every year for 14 years and has always sought to be able to build lawful permanent residence,' Shaikh said. 'But when you're stateless, you don't have that luxury. Now that you're finally at the finish line, why would you take it away.'
CNN
19 hours ago
- Politics
- CNN
ICE re-ups deal with detention center it said did not meet standards
Abraham Sano still remembers the first phone call he made after he said he was thrown 'in the hole' at the Glades County Detention Center in Moore Haven, Florida. 'I called my mom,' he told CNN. That was 2021. Sano, who is from Liberia and has since been deported there, recalls feeling like his body was burning. 'The first shot of pepper spray went in my ear all the way down my face,' he told CNN. After that he said he was thrown in solitary confinement. 'My body was burning for, like, days because the pepper spray residue was still on my body.' According to Sano and his former immigration lawyer, Katie Blankenship, this all started when Sano and more than a dozen other detainees were awakened in the middle of the night and beaten up by guards. Sano told CNN he was granted political asylum in the US but was later arrested on a robbery charge. The Glades facility is run by the Glades County Sheriff's Office in south-central Florida, west of Lake Okeechobee. After a 15-year arrangement, US Immigration and Customs Enforcement announced in March 2022 during the Biden administration that it would pause its use of the jail, noting that 'any future use of the facility will be dependent on fully addressing any conditions that do not meet detention standards.' ICE added that the pause was also due to 'persistent ongoing concerns related to the provision of detainee medical care.' Yet, in April this year, as deportations skyrocketed under the second Trump administration, ICE reinstated its contract with Glades County. In an email, ICE told CNN it had determined that Glades can help 'clear the backlog' of undocumented immigrants in the country. Regarding Sano's claims, ICE told CNN that the detainee refused multiple orders and that a 'burst' of pepper spray was used. Once Sano was restrained, ICE said he was 'immediately … treated by medical and cleared.' Blankenship maintains that three years after its ICE contract was canceled, Glades is still not fit for detaining immigrants. There have been no announcements or documentation of improvements at the facility, she said. 'It is unfit to be anything even close to use for immigration detention,' she told CNN. Sano isn't the only former detainee from Glades with a story to tell. Michael Wallace, who has since been deported to his home country of Jamaica, has epilepsy. He told CNN he was undocumented and arrived at Glades in July 2021 after being picked up on an immigration violation. He said he had his medication in hand, yet it was withheld by the facility, which caused him to have life-threatening seizures. 'It just disappeared; it's gone. I was wondering what's going on,' said Wallace, who spent about seven months at Glades. Blankenship, who represented him, said: 'His medical records quite literally say, 'Do not skip this medication.' … He has epilepsy. It's serious, in all caps — 'do not skip medication.' And they just flat out refuse (to give it to him) when they had his medication.' Without his medicine, Wallace told CNN that he sometimes got dizzy and ended up in a hospital away from the detention center. CNN INVESTIGATES Do you know anyone who's been detained in Glades County? Email us at tips@ Another immigration detainee, Rollin Manning, said he was exposed to a carbon monoxide leak in the kitchen at Glades in the fall of 2021 and nearly died. He told CNN affiliate WINK-TV in 2022 that 'I began to feel sick. I was sweating uncontrollably. I could not catch my breath. My chest was tight.' Blankenship, the immigration attorney, also represented Manning. 'He had to be airlifted out of Glades to Orlando to go through a massive detox system to save his life. (Glades workers) took no measures to treat him,' she told CNN. CNN obtained an investigative report from the Glades County Sheriff's Office about that carbon monoxide leak. It found that a staff member turned off a fan and supervisors 'failed to provide (a) safe working environment for detainee(s).' The Glades County Detention Center has a guaranteed minimum of 500 beds, according to its contract with ICE. In addition to ICE detainees, it also houses inmates for the county and prisoners detained by US Marshals. The Glades County Sheriff's Office, which operates the prison, declined to comment on the specific allegations by detainees or Blankenship. They did send us a statement, saying, 'The Glades County Sheriff's Office remains committed to providing safe and humane detention services to the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement. We have worked in tandem with our federal partners to insure (sic) our detention services are in compliance and meet the highest of standards required by ICE.' But the immigration attorney told CNN she has collected medical records from more than 30 detainees to support allegations of poor medical treatment at Glades between 2021 and 2023. 'If you couple the well-documented medical neglect with the toxic chemical spray, the carbon monoxide leak, the severe beatings of African and Muslim immigrants,' Blankenship said, '… There's an overwhelming amount of evidence as a basis to close down this facility.' CNN also obtained copies of dozens of grievances filed by Glades detainees in 2021 and 2022, including complaints about being served spoiled, partially frozen, or insect-ridden food. A spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security, of which ICE is a part, told CNN via email, 'The allegations regarding Glades County Detention Center were found unsubstantiated … ICE provides comprehensive medical care from the moment an alien enters ICE custody.' Blankenship remains skeptical. She, along with a group called the 'Shut Down Glades Coalition,' has filed more than two dozen complaints against the facility. She says those complaints 'resulted in various investigations and site visits over the years' and eventually led ICE to pause using the prison. 'That is exactly the same facility that it was years ago,' she said. 'I don't have any reason to believe that there has been any correction or any adjustment or even any interest in making sure that this facility does anything to treat people humanely.' CNN made repeated calls and emails to the Glades County Sheriff's Office, asking for documentation of any improvements since the detention center was last used by the federal government. None of that information was provided to us. CNN also reached out to the Glades County Manager and the Board of County Commissioners for comment. In an email to CNN, ICE did not cite any recent changes or improvements at Glades. The agency said it is 'committed to ensuring detainees housed in its facilities are treated with dignity and respect and facility operators meet ICE detention standards.' ICE also wrote that prior to housing immigration detainees at Glades this year, it did a 'pre-occupancy inspection of the facility to ensure its operations complied with ICE standards.' Blankenship said she believes the detention center is being operated as a moneymaker for Glades County, which incentivizes officials to cut costs. In 2006, Glades Correctional Development Corporation issued bonds to raise $33 million for the construction of the detention center. The issuing document obtained by CNN described the purpose of securing a federal contract to house detainees — primarily from ICE — as 'producing economic benefits to the County.' 'They don't get the money that they want if they improve these conditions because they would have to actually provide real medical care … which would cost more money. So, then it'd be less money for the county,' Blankenship said. 'They would have to provide food that's not freezing cold or filled with bugs or hair. All this stuff that we hear about constantly … that would cost money,' she added. 'Getting them clothes that don't have holes and bloodstains in them, that would cost money. Providing sheets and blankets to people costs money.' When CNN asked DHS about this, Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin responded with a statement, saying in part, 'ICE takes its commitment to promoting safe, secure, and humane environments for those in our custody very seriously. It is a longstanding practice to provide comprehensive medical care from the moment an alien enters ICE custody. ICE is regularly audited and inspected by external agencies to ensure that all its facilities comply with performance-based national detention standards.' McLaughlin also told us, 'As part of reopening of this facility, DHS improved the food service, commissary, and installed tablets for detainees to file grievances and to be able to make video calls to their lawyers and family members.' CNN cannot confirm any improvements were made since ICE would not give us access to the Glades facility, nor did they provide any evidence such changes were made. According to Blankenship, 'The immigration system is working exactly how they want it to. It is a system in its creation that is meant to be a practice of inhumanity for profit.'
