Immigration advocates said an Afghan man in Des Moines was apprehended by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) while on his way to work Tuesday around 8 a.m. The man was allegedly held for around three hours and then released.
Iowa Migrant Movement for Justice (MMJ), which provided legal services to the man before the alleged detention, said in a news release that the man is in the country legally and has maintained his legal status since coming to the U.S. in 2021. The nonprofit said it was not making the man's name public "due to serious concerns" for his and his family's safety.
The group, which also has an advocacy branch, said the individual does not have a criminal record and is currently awaiting approval for his permanent residency status. According to Iowa MMJ, the man was an auto mechanic who helped repair U.S. military vehicles while in Afghanistan during the war.
Iowa MMJ said its client's car was forced off the road by masked, plainclothes ICE agents who were driving unmarked cars. The man was then placed in handcuffs and taken to the federal building in Des Moines, where he was questioned on basic information and family information for a few minutes before being left alone in a holding cell.
The news release stated that witnesses said the apprehending agents claimed to be "arresting a f--- terrorist."
Elena Casillas-Hoffman, a communications specialist with Iowa MMJ, said the individual and his legal team still do not know the reason for the individual's apprehension by ICE agents. She said he asserted that he had done nothing wrong. Casillas-Hoffman said the client has reiterated he wants to be reunited with his family, who is still living outside the U.S.
"This is a father that is part of our community that was detained on his way to work by ICE, driven off of the road, held and questioned for hours, only to then just be released," Casillas-Hoffman said. "This is a father in our community, and we have to really sit with what does it mean that community members of ours are treated in this way?"
The detention came after the Trump administration cracked down on immigration following the shooting of two National Guard members in Washington, D.C. on Nov. 26. The suspect in the shooting, a 29-year-old Afghan national, worked for a CIA-backed unit in Afghanistan and entered the U.S. in 2021.
Trump administration announces major immigration restrictions
The U.S. Department of State announced on X that it would be halting all visa applications for people with Afghan passports. The Special Immigrant Visa (SIV) program is also frozen under an order from U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio. The program issued visas to Afghans who helped U.S. forces during the war.
The Trump administration also put immigration applications on hold for people living in the U.S. from 19 countries, including Afghanistan. People from those countries, who were approved for benefits like green cards under the Biden administration, will also be re-reviewed.
The New York Times also reported the Trump administration is prioritizing the deportation of more than 1,860 Afghans who were previously issued deportation orders.
Additionally, the administration started re-reviewing asylum cases approved under the Biden administration and has frozen all current asylum decisions, regardless of nationality.
Afghan families in Iowa worry about backlash
The day after the shooting in Washington, the Iowa Afghan Community and Culture Organization (IACCO) posted a statement condemning the shooting.
"The tragic incident does not represent who we are," the statement read. "It does not represent the character, loyalty or contributions of the Afghan people. Just as Americans understand that one person's actions do not define an entire group, we hope and pray that millions of Afghans who have suffered through conflict will not be judged by the actions of one man."
Fazal Moneer, a social worker and board member of IACCO, said many members of the Afghan community were concerned and anxious about the Trump administration's immigration restrictions before the Afghan individual was detained by ICE in Des Moines.
He said many members were concerned about potentially facing discrimination or being assaulted, especially women who were concerned about being targeted and identified by their clothing.
He said parents are also considered about the safety of their children in public. Moneer said that although he and his wife both have permanent legal status, they still have concerns.
"Every time I go home from work, she's asking me, like, 'Are they going to deport us? Are they going to come after us?'" he said. "It seems like it's in every family, though I keep my family educated about everything. But she also hears from her friends. They have WhatsApp groups. They watch social media. So this is pretty much an obvious concern for everyone."
Moneer said while Iowa has been a very welcoming state in his experience, he hopes the support for refugees and the Afghan community continues.
"The kids who are growing here will be the future of this country, if from anywhere, we hear words like the politician use like [toward] specific communities, for example 'garbage' or something, it is not only harming the psychological situation of the people who live there, but also the next generation," he said.
Advocates say refugees feel 'left behind and forgotten'
Nicholas Wuertz, director of immigrant and refugee community services at Lutheran Services in Iowa (LSI), said the nonprofit has helped welcome 357 Afghans on behalf of the U.S. government since December 2021. Of those that arrived, 278 came on humanitarian parole, 63 arrived through the SIV program and 16 came over with refugee status.
Wuertz said many members of the Afghan community have been navigating the immigration process for years.
"I think there is this sense of kind of being left behind and forgotten, and in that, the U.S. has not provided a straightforward path to permanency for many people," he said. "I think there is a lot of frustration that we haven't necessarily finished the job, in terms of protecting our Afghan allies who are already here, as well as trying to protect those who are still abroad and are in danger."
In a statement on Tuesday, Iowa MMJ said it strongly condemns "cruel directives" from the Trump administration that it calls a departure from U.S. laws and humanitarian values.
"Our Afghan allies and refugee communities undergo a lengthy process of vetting and were promised lasting protection and deserve to live in peace and safety," Casillas-Hoffman said. "We know that the Trump administration has an existing anti-immigrant agenda, which we've seen target immigrants as scapegoats, instead of providing meaningful solutions to the multitude of problems that the U.S. is facing."
Casillas-Hoffman said moving to a more permanent immigration status is critical for helping people access public benefits.
Under the reconciliation bill passed this year, refugees, asylees and other people living in the U.S. lawfully are no longer eligible for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). Afghan nationals granted parole between July 31, 2021 and Sept. 30, 2023 are also no longer eligible for SNAP benefits.
"There's a level of protection that comes with it, knowing that a green card status potentially is a little bit harder to pull away than TPS [temporary protected status] or refugee [status], but that also having a green card status allows individuals and community members to have access to basic goods and services," Casillas-Hoffman said.
Green card holders are eligible for SNAP after a five-year waiting period unless they meet certain exceptions that make them immediately eligible.
Grassley supports Trump administration halting visas for Afghans
In a call with reporters this week, Republican U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley applauded the administration's actions to halt visas for Afghan nationals. Grassley pointed to an incident involving an Afghan national who was arrested in Texas last week for social media posts that threatened a suicide attack. Grassley faulted the Biden administration.
“Over the last four years, I've sounded the alarm about previous administration failures to properly vet Afghan evacuees,” Grassley said. “My oversight found that thousands of Afghan evacuees flagged as potential national security threats, these were all allowed to enter the United States.”
The suspect in the Washington shooting was approved for asylum in April under the current administration.
John Wanamaker contributed to this reporting.
