Asylum seeker who fled Taliban is at risk of deportation back to Afghanistan: Attorney

(NEW YORK) — An asylum seeker who fled Afghanistan last year after being persecuted by the Taliban is at risk of being deported back to his home country, according to his attorney.  

Attorney Elora Mukherjee told ABC News that despite having no criminal record and having future asylum hearings scheduled, her client was apprehended by immigration authorities last Wednesday during a routine “check in” at 26 Federal Plaza in New York City. 

Mukherjee and her client’s family requested his name not be used due to fear of threats. 

The asylum seeker’s arrest comes after President Donald Trump directed his administration to suspend all Afghan immigration cases in response to a shooting earlier this month that killed one National Guard member and left another in critical condition in Washington, D.C. The administration has accused the Biden administration of not properly vetting asylum seekers.

The suspected shooter is an Afghan refugee named Rahmanullah Lakanwal, who previously worked with the U.S. government, including the CIA, in Afghanistan. He has pleaded not guilty.  

Since the shooting, immigrant advocates and attorneys say Afghan asylum seekers and refugees have been targeted for detention and deportation. 

Mukherjee told ABC News that her client applied to enter the United States through the Customs and Border Protection’s One app and received an appointment to enter the country in May 2024. 

According to a habeas petition filed by Mukherjee, her client fled Afghanistan “after being subject to forced eviction and threats of potential death by the Taliban.”

The man was held in Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody for six months and then released on parole, according to court documents. Shortly after being released, he appeared before immigration court and applied for asylum, withholding of removal, and Convention Against Torture relief.

Mukherjee said her client has attended all of his immigration hearings and has one scheduled for February 2026.

But last Wednesday, Mukherjee told ABC News, her client received a notification from ICE to appear at 26 Federal Plaza, the government building that has become an epicenter for clashes between immigrants and immigration authorities, for a “check in.”

After the man entered the ICE waiting room, Mukherjee said, he was apprehended by immigration authorities and taken to a detention center in New Jersey. 

“I tried to stay by his side, but officers insisted on separating us … in fact, they took [him] and detained him,” said Mukherjee.

Mukherjee told ABC News she filed a habeas petition challenging his detention.

“He’s not done anything wrong,” she said. “He has complied with all of his immigration check-in requirements. Filed a timely asylum application. He was persecuted by the Taliban and he will be very seriously harmed, tortured and killed by the Taliban if he’s forced to return to Afghanistan.”

ABC News reviewed federal and state court records and did not find a criminal record for the man.

During a hearing on Friday, a federal judge ordered the government to answer to the habeas petition by Wednesday and Mukherjee to respond by Thursday.

A representative of the Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to a request for comment from ABC News.

“He was not safe in his home country,” said the man’s brother, who also asked that his name not be used due to fear of threats to him and his family. “So he came to the United States and he feels safe over here, and he wants to establish a secure life for his future.”

He told ABC News that his brother was working and taking English classes before he was detained.

“Being returned to Afghanistan is on everyone’s mind,” his brother said. “I’m very worried.”