Benazir Nourzad, an Afghan student and recipient of a U.S. Fulbright scholarship, has been arrested by officers from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
Matiullah Nourzad, Benazir’s brother, told the media that she was arrested by U.S. immigration officers as she was preparing to fly from an airport to Virginia.
The 32-year-old Afghan student went to the United States in 2021 on a Fulbright scholarship and applied for asylum that same year.
Sources emphasized that Benazir’s asylum application had not been denied and that her asylum interview had been scheduled for the coming weeks.
According to published reports, she was transferred to the Calhoun County Correctional Facility in Battle Creek, Michigan.
Her current whereabouts and exact place of detention remain unknown.
Matiullah Nourzad, a U.S. permanent resident who previously worked with U.S. forces in Afghanistan, described his sister’s arrest as unjustifiable.
He said she had a work permit and the documents required to live and work legally in the United States.
Expressing concern that his sister could be sent back to Afghanistan, he urged U.S. officials to review Benazir’s case as soon as possible, taking humanitarian considerations into account.
Meanwhile, the Hazara Diaspora Network expressed concern over Nourzad’s arrest by U.S. immigration authorities and called for her immediate release.
The organization urged U.S. immigration authorities to review Nourzad’s asylum case in full compliance with due-process principles and the United States’ international commitments to protect asylum seekers.
The Hazara Diaspora Network warned that returning Nourzad to Afghanistan could expose her to serious threats.
