Afghan Family Detained In Orange County, LAX, To Be Released, Attorneys Say

SANTA ANA, CA — An Afghan family that was detained at Los Angeles International Airport despite having special entry visas issued because the father worked for the U.S. government in Afghanistan will be released from custody Monday.

This, following two days of being held at LAX, the father was taken to a detention center in Orange County and the mother and three children were taken to a similar facility in downtown Los Angeles according to reports.

Attorneys working on the behalf of the family of five said they were notified around midday that the family would be released.

Talia Inlender of Public Counsel told City News Service that the family is expected to be released Monday afternoon.

Los Angeles attorney Robert Blume, who is also representing the family, said he was notified that the family was being released "to a parole status."

"We are grateful that the family's liberty will be renewed, but remain troubled that the government still has not provided any reason for their original arrest and detention," Blume said. "We also remain concerned that the government refuses to recognize the legitimacy of the family's Special Immigration Visa."
Blume said attorneys will continue pursuing the case "until the remaining injustices are addressed."

News of the family's pending release came about 90 minutes before a scheduled federal court hearing in Santa Ana about the family's status.
The family of five, which includes the couple's three sons, ages 7, 6 and 8 months, received visas because of the father's work for the U.S. government in Afghanistan, their attorneys said. The father served on an Air Force base with other U.S. military officials and contractors, according to the attorneys.

When the family arrived at Los Angeles International Airport on Thursday, "they were immediately taken into custody and detained for more than 40 hours without access to counsel," their attorneys said.

The International Refugee Assistant Project filed legal papers on behalf of the family. After those court papers were filed, the father was sent to a detention center in Orange County, the attorneys said, while the mother and their three sons were scheduled to be taken to a detention facility in Texas.

U.S. District Judge Josephine Staton in Santa Ana issued a temporary restraining order Saturday night barring officials from moving any of the family members out of California.

Why federal officials detained the family remains a mystery.

The family of five were scheduled to board a connecting flight to Seattle where they were going to resettle, the Los Angeles Times reported.

But the family was detained at LAX by U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents.

Inlender told the Los Angeles Times that because of the father's work with the government in Afghanistan, the family had received special immigration visas. The process for obtaining such visas involves intense vetting -- including interviews, security checks, medical examinations and fingerprints -- as well as a finding the applicant has experienced a serious threat because of his or her work with the U.S. government, according to the court petition filed on behalf of the family over the weekend.

"It shocks the conscience," Inlender told The Times. "These are the people we should be putting out the welcome mat for. They're putting their own lives and families at risk, and instead of providing them that welcome mat we are detaining them."

The names of the detainees have not been released because attorneys have not received approval to make them public and because it could put the family in harm's way.

City News Service report, Shutterstock Photo