Cheshire Student Released From ICE Custody On Bond: Officials

CHESHIRE, CT — A Cheshire High School student will be released on bond from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention, officials announced Monday.

The 19-year-old student, who is only being referred to publicly as “Rihan,” has been in ICE custody since April 6, when he was detained by agents outside his home.

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The student, whose father is an interpreter who worked with U.S. forces in Afghanistan and was previously detained by ICE last year, was reportedly taken into custody by ICE agents based on a paperwork error. Lawyers said the paperwork error had already been corrected, according to WFSB 3.

U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal said in a statement Monday that he was “overjoyed that justice has been done for Rihan and his family in his release from ICE’s unlawful, abusive detention.”

“Neither he nor his father, Zia, should ever have been seized and incarcerated,” Blumenthal said. “They are in America lawfully. In fact, they are here because they put their lives on the line in Afghanistan to help protect our troops.

“I am proud to be a member of a team that has advocated and fought for his release, spearheaded by a community standing by this brave family as well as legal advocates working tirelessly on their behalf. I will continue this fight for Rihan and countless others who are victims of ICE’s reckless and inhumane abuses. I look forward to welcoming Rihan home and celebrating his imminent graduation from Cheshire High School.”

Rihan and his family have been pursuing a legal path to citizenship and entered the U.S. legally under a humanitarian visa, according to Gov. Ned Lamont.

“I am relieved that Rihan is finally being reunited with his family, although it was categorically wrong that he was ever detained by ICE in the first place,” Lamont said in a statement. “Nor should his father, Zia, have been detained last year. Rihan and Zia are not people who slipped through a bureaucratic crack – they are here lawfully, and more than that, they are here because they risked their lives in Afghanistan to protect American soldiers. I ask ICE and DHS to immediately cease their cruel targeting of this family and to reinstate the humanitarian visa under which the family entered this country legally.

“I am deeply proud to stand alongside the other political leaders, advocates, and community members who refused to let this family be forgotten. But let us be clear: what was done to Rihan and Zia was wrong, and their case is not an exception. ICE’s pattern of reckless, inhumane detention has torn apart too many families and destroyed too many lives. That fight is far from over, and I will not stop fighting for justice.

“To Rihan, I say this: what you and your family have endured is not fair, and I am so sorry that you have not received the warm, grateful welcome and clear path to residency that the federal government promised your father. Connecticut is lucky to have you, and I have no doubt that one day, should you continue on your path to becoming a physician, patients will be lucky to have you too – steady hands, a bright mind, and a heart that already knows what it means to suffer and to persevere. Keep going. Your community is behind you, your future is waiting, and the best chapters of your story are still ahead.”