I am a volunteer for IRIS (Integrated Refugee and immigration Services) in Connecticut. All of the donations to this GoFundMe campaign will go directly to Zia and his family.
This is a difficult story and it will not have some of the normal GoFundMe elements. For example, there will be no pictures because pictures or videos might expose Zia and his family to violence and harm. While we are required to set a GoFundMe Goal, we have no idea what that goal should be because we cannot predict the future. I will try to be brief, but it is a long story.
In the beginning, Zia was just finishing high school in his rural village in Afghanistan when the US Military entered his country to find Osama bin Laden. Zia signed up as a contractor to act as a translator and cultural advisor to the US Army. He was not political; it was a job that offered him the opportunity to help support his family. Zia did his job proudly and received several certificates of appreciation from the Army.
This job was dangerous. Many Afghan interpreters were killed along with the many American soldiers who died and/or were wounded. War is hell. In his village, it was also dangerous for his family. One of his cousins was killed and dumped in the river, and the Taliban threw an explosive device into Zia’s family home which killed one of their cows and put out the eye of one of his nephews. His mother suffered a heart attack and the whole family was living in fear of harm or death.
When the United States decided to pull out of Afghanistan, Zia and his family fled to Pakistan. While living and working in Pakistan, Zia and his family applied to UNHCR for Refugee Status, but the UNHCR office in Pakistan suspended their operations. He then applied for a visa to the US under Humanitarian Parole and under the SIV (Special Immigrant Visa) program. These applications were submitted in 2021 and 2022, and he and his family went through their medical screening and interviews at the US Embassy in Islamabad, Pakistan. The US Government (USCIS) approved his Humanitarian Parole application in September 2024 and the family arrived in the United States in October 2024.
Zia settled his family, in Connecticut, with the help of his brother who had become a US Citizen in 2022. At that time, support for refugee resettlement had been suspended by the administration in DC and there was no government funding provided. Zia enrolled his five children (2 boys and 3 girls) in public schools and was able to get a job at a local manufacturing company. The job was close enough to his rental home that he could walk to/from work each day as he did not have a driver’s license or a car.
The family’s Humanitarian Parole visas are good for two years until October 7, 2026. Zia, with the help of his brother, then began the I-485, Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status (Green Card) process. These applications were filed using an immigration lawyer, L.C. Petersen Immigration Law LLC, in June 2025. As a result of these applications, Zia was invited to a biometric appointment on July 16, 2025 at the local USCIS office in East Hartford. Since he does not drive, I volunteered to drive him to his appointment.
We arrived on time and the biometric appointment was completed without incident. When we exited the office, we were surrounded by ICE officers, Zia was arrested and put in detention under an Expedited Removal order. He has now been moved out of the state and is in detention at the Plymouth County Correctional Facility in Massachusetts.
Contrary to his arrest by ICE, Zia applied to USCIS legally, paid all of the application fees, was interviewed and given a visa by the US Embassy in Islamabad, was interviewed and admitted by the CBP at the JFK Airport, and since October 8, 2024 has been living in Connecticut legally and without any criminal incidents. Zia has done all that the government has asked of him, he is here legally, and he should be released.
The family is devastated and again living in fear. Zia is imprisoned and does not understand what happened to his American dream. The donations for this GoFundMe account will go directly to the family to support their legal costs and living expenses. As we post this GoFundMe page, we are actively attempting to get Zia released legally and would welcome any contributions you might be able to make. Thank you so much for your help.
For addition information, several links are listed below:
Sen. Blumenthal speaks after meeting with Afghan interpreter held at ICE facility by NBC 10 News
Conversation between Senator Dick Blumenthal; Congresswoman Jahana Hayes; Congressman Bill Keating; Shawn VanDiver, Founder of AfganEvac; Kyleanne Hunter, CEO of IAVA; and Lauren Petersen, Immigration Attorney regarding Zia's detainment.
Link to video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5a4MnHoL-ks
Afghan interpreter in US legally detained by ICE at routine green card appointment by Scripps News
Link to article: https://www.scrippsnews.com/politics/immigration/afghan-interpreter-in-us-legally-detained-by-ice-at-routine-green-card-appointment
Afghan translator who worked for US military detained by Ice in Connecticut by The Guardian
Link to article: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jul/23/afghanistan-war-translator-ice-connecticut
Masked ICE agents detain former Afghan interpreter who helped US military by Reuters
Link to article: https://www.reuters.com/legal/government/masked-ice-agents-detain-former-afghan-interpreter-who-helped-us-military-2025-07-22/
"It is Cruel and Stupid" by The Hartford Courant 08/07/2025
