12 November 2026 | FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE | CRCL Complaint
He aided US forces against the Taliban. Twenty-one months into ICE detention, he is still denied asylum and urgent medical care.
NATCHEZ, Mississippi – Afghan doctor Ahmad (pseudonym) helped American troops fight the Taliban at enormous risk to his life, and further endangered himself to get his family out of Afghanistan, away from the Taliban’s retribution. His courage and immense sacrifice were overlooked in his asylum claim, and he has now spent almost two years in ICE detention, suffering life-threatening medical neglect and psychological harm. It is a mistreatment and miscarriage of justice against an Afghan refugee trapped in ICE custody.
Sanctuary of the South (SOS), the Council on American-Islamic Relations-Legal Defense Fund (CAIR-LDF), American Civil Liberties Union of Mississippi (ACLU MS), and Asian Americans Advancing Justice-Atlanta (AAAJ-ATL) today called for Ahmad’s immediate release. Mr Ahmad has been held in ICE custody since 2024, currently detained at the Adams County Detention Center in Mississippi. SOS, CAIR, AAAJ-ATL, and ACLU MS filed a complaint with the Department of Homeland Security’s Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties (CRCL) alleging substantial medical neglect and unsafe conditions of confinement.
“Mr. Ahmad was an ally to the United States against the Taliban and helped his family members escape to refugee camps outside the country. When he fled Afghanistan, he faced grave danger in his journey to the United States. Despite his heroic sacrifices for the United States, Mr. Ahmad has experienced only cruelty and neglect in the American immigration system. The legal coalition urges an end to his prolonged and inhumane detention, and that Mr. Ahmad be released to his family in the United States immediately.”
— Katie Blankenship, Managing Partner, SOS
Mr. Ahmad aided U.S. forces and their allies during the war with the Taliban. Mr Ahmad, a licensed medical professional and a researcher in Afghanistan, aided US forces and their allies during the war against the Taliban. Before refusing to comply with the Taliban’s extremist policies, he never had conflict with authorities, and has no criminal history of any kind.
He arrived in the US in December 2024 and immediately surrendered to the authorities, lawfully seeking asylum. Mr. Ahmad has multiple reliable and willing sponsors in the United States: his mother and sister are lawful permanent residents. He passed a credible fear interview, citing fear of Taliban retribution, but his asylum claim was unjustly denied. He has now deteriorated—physically and emotionally—in detention for almost two years, without critical medical care or an end in sight. He has an urgent medical condition that requires immediate treatment; it risks developing into cancer without intervention.
His case is not an outlier. The 2021 withdrawal from Afghanistan left an estimated 18,000 at-risk applicants and 53,000 eligible family members without visas. Many Afghans have since turned to an asylum system with a 2.6 million-case backlog as of 2024.
Outcomes for Afghan asylum seekers have worsened sharply under the Trump administration. Immigration judges granted roughly 88.4% of Afghan asylum petitions in FY 2024. Since January 2026, that rate has fallen to 47%. The overall asylum denial rate rose from about 60% at the end of 2024 to 94.1% in June 2026, a grant rate of 5.5%. Temporary Protected Status for Afghanistan was terminated in 2025, and DHS launched Operation PARRIS in January 2026, re-vetting roughly 5,600 refugees in Minnesota in an effort to revoke their status.
This abandonment of foreign allies is a particularly distasteful manifestation of a larger effort to purge the U.S. of foreign nationals, regardless of their contributions or legitimate immigration claims. Mr. Ahmad, who was likely eligible for resettlement benefits under the scuttled Enduring Welcome Program—“the U.S. government’s long-term commitment to resettling in the United States tens of thousands of brave Afghan allies at risk who worked closely with U.S. diplomats, aid workers and military personnel”—is one of its many casualties.
We are outraged that Mr. Ahmad, who risked his life resisting the Taliban and should be welcomed and celebrated, has been refused asylum despite valid claims of Taliban persecution. Kept from his family in the US, which puts his life in grave danger, he is being held indefinitely in ICE custody in horrendous conditions, with ongoing medical neglect. We are acting to secure his freedom and to hold the Trump Administration accountable for its ongoing cruelty towards immigrants.
About Sanctuary of the South
Sanctuary of the South (SOS) works to defend the right to due process for everyone in the United States, providing critical, affordable legal defense to immigrant families affected by detention, deportation, and abuse. SOS offers direct representation in detention centers across the Southeast, brings federal litigation to hold the government accountable for constitutional violations, and provides robust safety planning for individuals, families, businesses, and communities. Learn more at sanctuaryofthesouth.com.
About the Council on American-Islamic Relations-Legal Defense Fund
The Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR) is the largest Muslim civil liberties organization in the United States. CAIR applies a multifaceted, rights-based approach towards countering Islamophobic discrimination, promoting justice, and protecting civil rights. CAIR’s Legal Defense Fund (LDF) offers direct legal representation to Muslims across the United States who have experienced religious-based discrimination. Learn more at cair.com
About Asian Americans Advancing Justice-Atlanta
Asian Americans Advancing Justice - Atlanta is the first and largest nonprofit legal advocacy organization dedicated to protecting the civil and human rights of Asian Americans, Pacific Islanders (AAPI), Arab, Middle Eastern, Muslim, and South Asian (AMEMSA) and immigrant communities in Georgia and the Southeast. Immigrant communities often face systemic barriers to civic participation, language access, and legal resources, as well as harmful policies that limit their rights. To address these challenges, the organization takes a multi-dimensional approach—through civic engagement, policy advocacy, impact litigation, and immigration legal services—to help build a just world where all communities can thrive with dignity and self-determination. Learn more at advancingjustice-atlanta.org
About the American Civil Liberties Union-Mississippi
The ACLU of Mississippi is dedicated to promoting, defending, and extending civil rights and civil liberties to all Mississippians with emphasis on issues related to criminal justice reform, education opportunities, equal access/equality for all, voting rights, and governmental transparency and accountability. We accomplish our mission through legislation, litigation and advocacy. Learn more at aclu-ms.org
