May 23, 2025—CAIR-WA staffers Faiza (Deputy Legal Director) and Sabrene (Community Legal Advocate) just got back from helping a CAIR Washington client who had immigration officers show up to his house.
An Afghan brother who is here on parole and seeking asylum got a call this morning from immigration officials telling them they were on the way to his house. Faiza is his attorney, so he called her, and she was able to give him advice. Immediately Sabrene and Faiza got in the car and headed to his house to support him.
You’ve seen the stories of what can happen—the stories of Mahmoud Khalil, Rumeysa Ozturk, Mohsen Mahdawi, and more.
When the officers got to his house, the client followed Faiza’s instructions and told them that he would not speak to them without an attorney present. He didn’t open the door or let them in. Finally, they left. Faiza and Sabrene showed up just after they left and were able to talk the client through next steps.
Here’s what our client did right: He called his attorney, he did NOT open the door to the immigration officers, and he told them he would not speak to them without an attorney present.
If CAIR-WA hadn’t been able to support him, this brother would have faced immigration enforcement – he might have given information to the officers which could have led to lost status, other enforcement and hurt his own or other community member’s immigration applications.
The bottom line is that you do not have to speak with immigration officials outside of your scheduled immigration appointments. If they try to get you to talk to them, tell them that you will not speak to them without a lawyer present. Then call CAIR-WA.
Thankfully we have 3 attorneys at CAIR-WA who assist clients like this every day. Although this is just a small win, this is what it’s going to take during such challenging times.
CAIR-WA is organizing support and translators for Muslims who have immigration court appearances in the coming weeks, following the appearance of ICE agents at the Seattle courthouse.