Afghan Man Freed After Viral Arrest and Over 100 Days in ICE Custody
“I still believe in America. I do not feel betrayed. I feel hopeful because of how many Americans stood up for me when I was arrested.”
After a video of his arrest by masked Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents went viral in June, Afghan Sayed Naser was released on September 26 following 106 days of detention.
On July 17, Naser's attorney Brian McGoldrick filed a petition for a writ of habeas corpus requesting his immediate release. McGoldrick argued that "attempts to detain, transfer, and deport [Naser] are arbitrary and capricious and in violation of the law."
Afghan ally Sayed Naser was arrested and put in handcuffs by two masked Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), despite his pending asylum request. pic.twitter.com/06oBHmCqI1
— reason (@reason) June 19, 2025
According to court documents shared with Reason, the government opposed the petition, but Judge Gonzalo Curiel of the Southern District of California scheduled a hearing of Naser's habeas petition on September 25. McGoldrick told Shawn VanDiver, president of #AfghanEvac, that during the hearing, Curiel was "very inquisitive" and sounded "very friendly to our position."
On September 26, Curiel put out a summarized opinion ordering Naser's immediate release. Curiel found that Naser "could not have been legally subjected to and detained" given his status at the time of his arrest, and that by revoking Naser's parole without providing notification, the government had denied "his due process rights."
In an October 2 press conference, McGoldrick said that Naser was released at 9:45 p.m. last Friday, and added, "we've been celebrating ever since." Naser expressed gratitude for all the Americans who supported his case, telling assembled press that his time in detention was "the hardest piece of my life." "I thought that the time is stopped," Naser said, adding that every day felt "like a month."
When asked if his ordeal had changed his mind about wanting to be an American citizen, Naser replied, "I still believe in America. I do not feel betrayed. I feel hopeful because of how many Americans stood up for me when I was arrested."
McGoldrick also expressed gratitude for Naser's supporters, particularly the volunteers who filmed Naser's arrest, saying that without their documentation, "nobody would know what happened."
Following Naser's release, Curiel has restored the terms of the parole Naser received when he legally entered the U.S. through the CBP One App in July 2024. Curiel has also ordered that "Respondents shall not cause [Naser] to be re-detained during the pendency of his removal proceedings without prior leave of this Court."
Now, Naser and McGoldrick must return to square one and prepare his asylum claim once more before a new judge in San Diego immigration court.
The Taliban murdered Naser's brother in 2023. A Special Immigrant Visa applicant who had worked with U.S. forces for two years during the Afghanistan War, Naser fled to Brazil in April 2024 and made his way to the U.S.-Mexico border. Like many parolees who utilized the CBP One App to claim asylum, Naser was told that his parole was revoked in a letter from the Department of Homeland Security in April.
It was after presenting his asylum case in immigration court in June that Naser was arrested. The government said that Naser's notice to appear had been "improvidently issued," but provided no further information about their allegation. On June 26, a federal judge dismissed Naser's asylum case, which placed him in expedited removal proceedings.
While Naser's release is a positive development, McGoldrick said he is now representing another Afghan, Habib, who is currently in ICE custody.
Like Naser, Habib had entered the U.S. on parole in 2024. McGoldrick says that Habib had received work authorization and had filed an asylum claim when he was arrested on September 19. McGoldrick explained that Habib had been performing a delivery at a U.S. military base in California when base personnel noticed that he had a limited license.
According to McGoldrick, base personnel called military police to the scene, and Habib was told that he could not depart the base until ICE arrived and took him into custody.
Habib has a wife and two young children. With no money coming in, McGoldrick reports that Habib's wife cannot afford rent and is facing eviction. McGoldrick is working pro bono on Habib's case and filed a habeas petition for his release on September 29.
After Naser's release, VanDiver noted that while the judicial system has been successful in achieving assistance for Afghans in detention, the U.S. cannot go about rectifying "just one case at a time. We need Congress, companies, and citizens to step up."
