Across the US, people are being rounded up and shipped out to either detention centers or foreign countries with little to no trial. For one newlywed couple, their honeymoon was turned into a nightmare, as the new bride was snatched at an airport, and has been held for months, despite her immigration status.
22-year-old Ward Sakeik has lived in the US since she was 8 years old. Her family is from Gaza and was able to apply for asylum after managing to reach US soil. Technically, Ward Sakeik is stateless, and so she was allowed to stay under ‘order of supervision.’
This requires her to regularly check in with immigration services, which she has done for 14 years. The status allows her to work and have some of the same rights as a citizen of the US.
However, when she decided to take a holiday to the U.S territory of the Virgin Islands for her honeymoon, ICE swooped in and detained her. At the St. Thomas Airport, she was flagged, arrested, and has been held in various detention centers since.
Deportation Hell For Honeymoon Couple
The couple had checked with multiple agencies, including lawyers, before flying to the Virgin Islands for their honeymoon. All of them had given them the go-ahead, with the islands being US territory. However, the rules changed as soon as they landed in St Thomas.
The new bride was kept handcuffed at her ankles and wrists for the flight to Miami. Here, the two of them were separated, and she was detained for three weeks.
Her husband, Taahir Shaikh, along with their lawyer, has been attempting to find out what is being done with his wife. According to Shaikh, she was recently going to be sent to the border of Israel. However, due to the recent ongoing airstrikes against Israel, the flight couldn’t leave.
Neither her husband nor her lawyer has been given any indication of when or where she could be sent. Technically, she is a woman with no state, but has been living in the US since she was only 8 years old. Her whole life, security, and limited freedom are based in the US.
This is an ongoing situation, and is becoming increasingly common for people living in the US.