#ward sakeik

[tearsofrefugees]

US tries to deport stateless Palestinian woman again despite judge’s order

Ward Sakeik was detained in February on her way home from her honeymoon in the US Virgin Islands

[justinspoliticalcorner]

DHS Dismisses Palestinian Woman's Treatment In ICE Detention As 'Sob' Story

“I guess what we would ask the American people is, 'Who are they gonna believe?'" said a lawyer for the stateless woman.

Pocharapon Neammanee at HuffPost:

A Palestinian woman released from Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention on Tuesday says she and others faced mistreatment while detained. Still, the Department of Homeland Security dismissed her account as one of many “sob stories.” “The entire detention process was not great. I wouldn’t wish this upon anybody. It was very hard, very traumatizing, and very, very difficult, is what I would say,” Ward Sakeik told CNN’s Danny Freeman on Saturday morning. Sakeik, 22, a stateless person whose family is from Gaza, was born in Saudi Arabia, a country that does not grant birthright citizenship to children of foreign-born parents, according to The Guardian. She entered the U.S. legally under a tourist visa when she was 8 and was allowed to remain, as long as she regularly checked in with ICE.

After getting married, she began the process of obtaining a green card, but was taken by ICE officials in February on her way back to Texas from her honeymoon in the Virgin Islands, a U.S. territory. DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin told CNN that Sakeik’s arrest was not part of a targeted operation by ICE, but that she was flagged by Customs and Border Patrol trying to reenter the U.S. after flying over international waters. In a statement shared with HuffPost, McLaughlin said Sakeik was not “complying with immigration policies.” “The facts are she is in our country illegally,” McLaughlin said. “She overstayed her visa and has had a final order by an immigration judge for over a decade.”

Sakeik was released Tuesday and appeared at a press conference where she talked about her experience, saying she was handcuffed for 16 hours without any water or food on a bus.

The classless DHS dismissed the treatment of the stateless Ward Sakeik while in detention as a “sob story.”

See Also:

The Guardian: Stateless Palestinian woman Ward Sakeik detained after honeymoon released from Ice jail

[tearsofrefugees]

North Texas Palestinian woman freed after nearly five months in ICE custody

Ward Sakeik, a Palestinian woman married to a U.S. citizen, was nearly deported twice despite a pending green card application.

[tearsofrefugees]

She Survived 141 Days in ICE Custody Thanks to a ‘Beautiful Sisterhood.’ Now She’s Fighting for Those Still Inside.

On the evening of Feb. 11, 22-year-old Ward Sakeik sat on a plane from the U.S. Virgin Islands to Miami. She and her husband, Taahir Shaikh,

[kael-writ]

Palestinian woman released from ICE custody after lengthy detention

Ward Sakeik is married to a US citizen and had a pending green card application when she was detained by ICE