NEW PALTZ, N.Y. — A 31-year-old New Paltz man is in custody after being detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers after attending a political asylum hearing at a federal court on Long Island, according to family and supporters.
The Afghan man, whose family asked that only his first name be used, was taken into ICE custody on Tuesday, Oct. 14. His family and supporters said they fear for Ali’s personal safety in the event he is deported back to Afghanistan.
Ali has lived in the United States since February 2022, after the withdrawal of American troops from Afghanistan and the Taliban’s return to power.
Ali, a New Paltz resident and Aghanistan refugee, was detained by federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers on Tuesday, Oct.14. (Photo proviced)
According to ICE online data, Ali is being held at the Delaney Hall Detention Facility in Newark, New Jersey.
An ICE media spokesperson promised on Wednesday that a public affairs officer would reply “soon” to an email from the Freeman requesting a reason for Ali’s incarceration, any charges filed against him and his next court date, if any. As of Thursday afternoon, the Freeman had received no further communication from ICE on the matter.
Ali, an asylum applicant, was at a “credible fear” interview with his lawyer as part of the political asylum process when he was taken into custody.
His sister Sayeda said she and another brother accompanied Ali to the two-and-a-half-hour hearing along with his lawyer. At the hearing, Ali told the judge that would be “really difficult or life-threatening” for him to return to Afghanistan, Sayeda said.
After the hearing, Sayeda said, officials asked Ali to wait at the courthouse for them to announce their decision.
“We waited there for almost four hours” and he was told, ‘Yes, you passed a credible-fear interview” and proved that a return to Afghanistan would pose a credible threat to his safety, Sayeda said.
At that point, she said, the court officer “just turned or left the room (and) the ICE officer came in and they detained him. So they were all hiding inside that room or in the room next to that, so they just came out all of a sudden from nowhere.”
Sayeda said what seemed like an ambush “was traumatizing for (her brother) and for anyone else. … I know that they are doing their job, but the thing is, like you should also consider the person in front of you is also a human being … and (is) just following the rules and laws of the country to be present for an interview.”
The treatment her brother received “really affects someone’s mental health,” she said. According to Sayeda, Ali has no criminal record or a deportation order.
Prior to his detention, Ali was working in security at a local hospital, studying full-time at Bard College and paying taxes, Sayeda said.
“We are working here. He was paying taxes. He was a full-time student at Bard College. And, my whole family, we are working. … He’s not a gang member. He’s not a criminal. Why is there no justice? But then you put him in the same facility as the rest of people that you have arrested? Who knows if they are gang members. Who knows?”
Sayeda said her family has been supported by the Christ the King Episcopal Church in Stone Ridge and even that affiliation would endanger him with the Taliban if he is deported, because any association with Christians is a violation of Afghanistan’s Sharia law and “will put like a family like mine, or my brother, at risk if he goes back.”
The Rev. Marcella Gillis, rector of Christ the King Episcopal Church, said her faith community has supported the family since 2022 “soon after the family resettled in the area” and through its collaboration with the Afghan Circle of the Hudson Valley. Since about January 2023, the church has hosted a monthly Afghan dinner prepared by Ali and his family, Gillis said. “The whole community has rallied around it.”
Proceeds from the carryout dinners, which feature traditional Afghan food, helped Ali and his family, Gillis said, adding that the dinners “have been a huge source of financial support for the family.”
Gillis said, “The whole community has rallied around (the family) in the most incredible way over these past couple of years” and that the dinner “brings in folks from all over the Hudson Valley.”
A dinner that was scheduled for Thursday night, Oct. 16, was “cancelled due to the emotional stress (of Ali’s detention) … but there’s no plan to discontinue” future dinners, Gillis said.
She said her congregation’s involvement with Ali and his Muslim family has established “a wonderful interfaith connection for all of us. We’ve learned a lot from each other” and the monthly dinners “aligned perfectly with our mission as a church to serve the community.”
Ali and his family left Afghanistan, his sister said, “because it is our belief and opinion on having human rights and having woman’s rights that everyone is equal, and that our opinion is like, we should not live under the regime which is being ruled by terrorist groups” and because they were employed by the previous Afghani government.
In Afghanistan, she said, Ali worked in an office that provided licenses for companies working with Americans and American contractors. “So we were part of the government before,” she said.
Gillis said the church has reached out and received “support” from local Democratic elected officials. “There is an awareness among elected officials and, generally speaking, some broad support,” she said.
In a statement, state Sen. Michelle Hinchey, D-Saugerties, said, “The Trump administration lied to the American people when they said they would only target and deport those who have committed violent crimes. Instead, they are systematically pulling people from their legal immigration and asylum hearings.”
Hinchey continued, stating that Ali “sought asylum legally and is in the final stages of obtaining legal status. He has committed no crime, caused no harm, and is a valued member of our community. Everyone should be united against these cruel and unjust detainments. This is unconscionable, and we want Ali reunited with his family immediately.”
In a statement, Ulster County Executive Jen Metzger, also a Democrat, said she is “deeply concerned by the detention.” Metzger said Ali “has called Ulster County home for more than three years” and “came to this country with his family seeking refuge after fleeing violence and persecution — protections that have long been afforded to asylum-seekers by our country and are now being upended. This detention is a cruel act, and I join with those in pressing for his release and return to his family and community.”
Gillis said Ali is “an upstanding community member (and) the provider for a family of eight. He’s the eldest son,” Gillis said, adding that his detention places an “undue burden on the family and the wider community. He’s very well-loved around here. … It’s a wonderful inter-faith connection for everybody.”
Gillis said Ali’s legal team is “working on filing all of the petitions that need to be filed to keep him here and to petition for his release while he’s waiting for his court date.”