How Trump’s decision to “re-examine” Afghans impacted one metro Detroit asylum seeker

Azizullah, an Afghan asylum seeker in Metro Detroit whose family had worked with U.S. contractors, was detained by ICE in December after a routine check-in, despite having withholding of removal protection, a pending appeal, and marriage to a U.S. citizen. His attorney says ICE cited orders from headquarters rather than any case-specific reason, and links the detention to President Trump's post-Thanksgiving call to “re-examine every single alien” from Afghanistan after a fatal shooting of a National Guard member by another Afghan asylum seeker.

After roughly six weeks, Azizullah's lawyer filed a habeas corpus petition; DHS lawyers opposed release citing general mandatory-detention policy rather than facts specific to him. A federal judge granted the lowest possible bond, and Azizullah was released after about two months, though his asylum case and broader immigration status remain unresolved amid an ongoing travel ban and paused green card processing for Afghans that a court has already ruled illegal.

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