Wife of WA vet arrested by ICE at citizenship interview speaks out

A Washington National Guard veteran was arrested Thursday during his final citizenship interview at the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services building in Tukwila. He is now being held at the Northwest ICE Processing Center in Tacoma.

As of Friday afternoon officials with ICE had not explained to Muhammed Zahid Chaudhry's family why he was detained. ICE has not responded to KUOW’s requests for comment.

Chaudhry's wife Melissa said her husband had spent the past two decades trying to get U.S. citizenship. The last time she saw him was when she pushed his wheelchair into a windowless room for his appointment on Thursday.

“This is a microcosm,” she said. “This is a little, teeny, tiny individual situation that is a reflection of what is at stake for us as a nation.”

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Melissa Chaudhry spoke to KUOW over the phone while she was nursing the couple's 8-month-old baby. She had words of encouragement for anyone who goes through a similar ordeal.

“I hope that you decide to do more than you ever thought possible, that you decide to do what you would do if the soul of your soul was taken from you with no warning and no mercy and no explanation,” she said.

The U. S. Citizenship and Immigration Service enacted new policies this week that increase the level of scrutiny people face as they try to navigate the citizenship and naturalization process. The new policies include increased scrutiny of anything officials deem “anti-American.”

Muhammed Chaudhry served in the military as a mental health specialist. His wife said after the Sept. 11 attacks, he was approached to work in intelligence for the military, and he refused. She said Chaudhry was told he would not be getting his citizenship anytime soon as a result.

“Intelligence work was to throw somebody under the bus, give them a name, and he said, ‘No.’ He said he didn't want the money, he didn't want the job. He was not going to ruin someone's life like that, an innocent person,” she said. “That violated his moral code, and he wouldn't do it.”

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Chaudhry continued to serve in the military until he was medically retired in 2005.

The Chaundrys and their family and friends suspect he has been put on a USCIS government list called the Controlled Application Review and Resolution Program or CARRP.

The list reportedly targets people from Muslim-majority countries, people who speak other languages, and have advanced degrees, all based on frequently vague associations with people on a separate U.S. terrorism watchlist.

People who are targeted by CARRP face a delayed naturalization process under what’s called "extreme vetting,” sometimes becoming undocumented and eligible for deportation.

The U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington ruled earlier this year that the federal government’s use of the program was “arbitrary and capricious,” and violated federal laws.

In its announcement this week, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service enacted new policies to increase scrutiny of people with legal status who support what officials consider anti-Semitic views, or who are supportive of terrorist organizations.

In her campaign to unseat U.S. Rep. Adam Smith, a Democrat from Washington, Melissa Chaudhry was critical of what she considers the ethnic cleansing and genocide happening in the Gaza Strip, and what she characterized as Smith’s lack of action. Muhammed Chaudhry has also been vocal about his opposition to Israel's actions in Gaza as a member of a Washington Chapter of Veterans for Peace.

In their announcement this week, USCIS officials said they are also taking a closer look at instances of applications the federal government considers fraudulent, or misrepresented.

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According to The Olympian, in 2013 ICE officials wanted Muhammed Chaudhry removed for misrepresenting two incidents to officials. In one incident, he was convicted in Australia of using an Australian’s passport to open a bank account and get medical benefits. An Australian man had given him that passport to keep until the Australian man could pay Muhammed back for an unpaid taxi fare.

The other incident alleges that Chaudhry misrepresented his citizenship when he applied to become a reserve officer for the Yakima Police Department.

Chaudhry told The Olympian in 2013 he doesn’t remember misrepresenting his citizenship to Yakima Police. He also said he wasn’t clear about the incident in Australia, to which he pleaded guilty. Other than these two instances, his wife said he has a clean record.

Despite attempts to remove him from the country, ICE records show Chaudhry was allowed to continue moving forward in his immigration case in 2018.