The lawyer for an Afghan asylum-seeker in the United States says his client whofled Taliban threats and harassment last year is now at risk of deportation “without having committed any crime.”
According to the lawyer, the man was detained after entering a government building in New York for what was expected to be a routine administrative appointment.
The asylum-seeker’s family and attorney have withheld his name due to security concerns. A legal complaint filed in his case states that he entered the United States after leaving Afghanistan because of “forced expulsion and death threats from the Taliban.”
He was held for six months in immigration detention in New York before being released on parole, but was recently taken back into custody after appearing at a US government office.
His detention comes after President Donald Trump ordered the suspension of all Afghan immigration cases following a recent shooting in Washington, D.C.
The suspect in that shooting an Afghan asylum-seeker who previously worked with the US government, including the CIA has pleaded not guilty.
Following the incident, migrant-rights advocates say Afghan asylum-seekers and immigrants are increasingly being targeted for detention and deportation across the United States.
