Immigration authorities to deport Afghan man who helped U.S. government

[Cattledog]

https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/immigration-authorities-to-deport-afghan-man-who-helped-us-government/2017/03/15/a7eecb9a-098e-11e7-a15f-a58d4a988474_story.html?tid=sm_tw&utm_term=.946ab0cebf42

U.S. immigration officials are planning to deport a man who worked with the U.S. mission in Afghanistan after they blocked the Special Immigrant Visa holder from entering the country Monday night. The man’s lawyers said he is likely to be sent back to Afghanistan on Wednesday night in what would be the first known removal of an Afghan holding the special visa, which is reserved for those who risked their lives for the U.S. government.

Department of Homeland Security officials detained the man, who lawyers declined to identify for privacy reasons, when he arrived at Newark International Airport, said Elizabeth Foydel, a lawyer for the International Refugee Assistance Project, one of three groups seeking his release. Authorities then held him for nearly 36 hours without providing access to a lawyer, during which time the government says he voluntarily withdrew his application for entry to the United States.

Officials from the Department of Homeland Security’s Customs and Border Protection division declined to comment on the man’s case or provide a reason for his removal from the country.

[tblue37]

1. K&R for visibility. nt