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CBS News Live
A North Texas pistillate was released Tuesday aft spending astir 5 months successful U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody, pursuing her apprehension successful February portion returning from her honeymoon — a lawsuit that drew mounting ineligible and nationalist pressure, her attorneys said.
Ward Sakeik, a 22-year-old Palestinian pistillate who has lived successful the U.S. since puerility but holds nary citizenship successful immoderate country, was picked up by her hubby from Prairieland Detention Center, a medium-security ICE installation successful Alvarado. The mates returned to their household location successful the Dallas-Fort Worth area.
Stateless and long-settled successful Texas
Born successful Saudi Arabia to Palestinian parents, Sakeik came to the U.S. astatine property 8. She aboriginal attended the University of Texas astatine Arlington and presently runs a wedding photography business.
Her lawyers said her "sudden release" came aft ICE attempted to deport her from the state successful "the aboriginal greeting hours" of June 30.
Ward Sakeik and husband, Taahir Shaikh
Taahir Shaikh
Arrested aft honeymoon flight
Immigration officials arrested her successful February aft a home formation from the U.S. Virgin Islands, wherever she had been honeymooning with her husband, Taahir Shaikh.
Her ineligible squad said ICE attempted to deport her doubly — including erstwhile successful usurpation of a national tribunal bid — contempt her pending greenish paper exertion and matrimony to a U.S. citizen.
Tarmac confrontation and deportation threat
According to her attorneys, ICE brought her onto the tarmac astatine Fort Worth Alliance Airport connected June 12 and told her she would beryllium sent to "the borderline of Israel" — contempt her being stateless and lacking ineligible presumption successful either Israel oregon the West Bank.
Last month, Shaikh said helium feared his woman could beryllium deported to an undisclosed country.
Lawyers condemn ICE actions
In a quality release, Eric Lee, 1 of her lawyers, called the deportation effort a "brazenly unconstitutional" act, arguing it violated her owed process rights.
"Had we not intervened, she whitethorn precise good beryllium successful a overseas state close now, separated from her household similar truthful galore others illegally deported to 3rd countries," Lee said. "As the Supreme Court sits connected its hands and lets this happen, the American radical indispensable basal up and reason Trump's descent to dictatorship."
Another attorney, Chris Godshall-Bennett, condemned the administration's migration policies arsenic "depraved," citing a signifier of harsh enforcement tactics.
Broader disapproval of migration policy
"The cruelty the authorities inflicted connected Ward and her household puts successful stark alleviation conscionable however depraved this administration's migration policies are," Godshall-Bennett said. "Let's beryllium clear: Ward was arrested and astir deported simply due to the fact that she is Palestinian and ICE thought they could get distant with it.
"The caller American concealed constabulary are retired of control, but the responsibility lies with generations of legislators who person happily demonized immigrants successful their contention to the fascistic bottom."
ICE officials person not publically commented connected Sakeik's release. CBS News Texas reached retired to the bureau for a connection but had not received a effect arsenic of precocious Wednesday afternoon.
Sakeik was held successful ICE custody for 141 days.
Doug Myers is simply a integer contented shaper for CBS Texas. A longtime journalist, Doug has worked for 4 newspapers successful Texas and Louisiana and for 3 tv stations successful Texas. He has besides spent clip arsenic a integer contented manager for a nationalist commercialized relation and arsenic communications manager for a authorities agency.
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