Federal judge releases disabled Washington veteran from ICE custody

TACOMA, Wash. — A federal judge on Monday morning ordered the immediate release of a disabled U.S. Army veteran who has been held at the Northwest ICE Processing Center in Tacoma since August.

Muhammad Zahid Chaudhry, who is originally from Pakistan and has been living in the United States since 2000, was detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement on Aug. 21 at the Tukwila U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services office after completing a scheduled citizenship interview. Since then, Chaudhry has been experiencing serious medical issues because of a lack of treatment at the detention center, his family and advocates allege.

Reviewing Chaudhry’s habeas corpus petition seeking release from ICE custody, U.S. District Chief Judge David G. Estudillo told the courtroom Monday he found Chaudhry’s detention unlawful. Under the order, Chaudhry will be allowed to return home while his ongoing immigration case proceeds.

The federal judge, who was appointed by President Joe Biden in 2021, ordered Chaudhry’s release on the basis of “the lack of process that was provided (to) detaining him in the first instance.”

“Clearly somebody is not looking at this in the right way or in the right context when they’re detaining individuals,” Estudillo said. “The frustration is people are just not following the procedures that they're supposed to.”

Estudillo told the courtroom he planned to file a written order within a few hours. Chaudhry’s wife Melissa Chaudhry said she expects her husband would be released from the detention center by Monday night.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Michelle Lambert, representing the federal government, acknowledged during oral arguments that based on prior rulings in the district, Chaudhry should have received notification prior to his arrest so he would have the opportunity to challenge the basis of his detention.

In his written ruling, Estudillo said immigration enforcement officials may not re-detain Chaudhry unless he receives written notice, along with an appropriate opportunity to respond to notice.

“We are grateful to the court for its attention today, we respect the judge, we respect the process, and we have faith in the rule of law,” Melissa Chaudhry said outside the U.S. District Court in Tacoma to a crowd of supporters shortly after the hearing.

Muhammad Zahid Chaudhry’s arrest in August sparked outrage among supporters, who describe him as an active community member with a history of service. He served on former Gov. Jay Inslee’s Committee on Disability Issues and Employment, and is the president of the Veterans for Peace Olympia chapter.

Chaudhry received lawful permanent resident status in April 2001. He enlisted in the Washington Army National Guard the same year, and served until 2005. He was honorably discharged due to a back injury sustained while training to go to Iraq in 2003.

Prior to his detainment, Chaudhry lived in Lacey with his wife and their two children. Melissa Chaudhry ran for Congress in 2024 in Washington’s 9th Congressional District.

Muhammad Zahid Chaudhry has been fighting to secure his citizenship in a cascade of litigation over nearly two decades, ultimately bringing his case before the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals.

He first applied for citizenship on the basis of his military service in April 2004. In his application, he noted he had a criminal conviction for fraud in Australia, where he lived before moving to the U.S., related to using a passport and credit card that wasn't his, according to court records.

That disclosure raised a red flag with immigration officials, who argued in court Chaudhry previously failed to mention those convictions in his tourist visa application, as well as in an interview related to his green-card application. Melissa Chaudhry said her husband has never broken the law in the U.S., and that the convictions in Australia carried a lenient sentence equivalent to paying a parking ticket.

In August 2008, an immigration judge denied Chaudhry’s application for naturalization, and ICE moved to deport him the following year. In a number of legal filings, Chaudhry has fought back against the threat of deportation and the denial of his citizenship application.

The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, which is reviewing Chaudhry's case, issued a stay of removal in 2020, preventing his deportation until the case concludes. That remains in effect.

“Because the circuit currently has that stay in place, there’s no basis to detain,” Estudillo said in court Monday.

Numerous health and human rights violations at the Tacoma detention center have been documented over the years by researchers and government agencies, including severe medical neglect, unsanitary food and swamplike water. People who have been held there report having limited access to basic hygiene supplies like soap and long wait times when they’re in need of medical treatment.

From the bench, Estudillo expressed concern about Chaudhry’s medical care at the detention center. The judge noted, for example, that Chaudhry has gone four months without being seen by an ophthalmologist despite having impaired vision because of his thyroid eye disease.

“After years of chronic pain and medical complications, his conditions today are severe, well documented, and incompatible with detention and deportation,” said Micaela Romero, an organizer with Washington Community Action Network and a family friend of the Chaudhrys, outside the courthouse.

Chaudhry’s immigration status remains in the hands of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. Estudillo noted that if the circuit were to lift the stay of removal, at that point, Chaudhry could be eligible for detention under U.S. immigration law.

Melissa Chaudhry said she expects the panel of appeals court judges to convene and review her husband’s case in January.

“They could order him deported, they could order him naturalized back to 2003, we don’t know” she said. “But he will be home with us when we find that out.”

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