Award-winning Kashmiri filmmaker Arfat Sheikh has been detained by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) at Washington Dulles International Airport, according to his friends, supporters and the Free Arfat Sheikh Campaign.
Sheikh, 42, was detained on September 24 while travelling to Washington, DC, to attend an “Art as Resistance” panel at Busboys and Poets. According to his friends, he had just arrived from California when ICE agents surrounded him and took him into custody.
His supporters allege that Sheikh was detained without a warrant despite presenting his immigration documents.
ICE has not immediately responded to the allegations.
Filmmaker Being Held in Virginia
Sheikh is currently being held at the Caroline Detention Facility in Virginia. He was scheduled to appear before an immigration judge on October 6 for a procedural hearing followed by a bond hearing.
Sheikh had been travelling with author and filmmaker Tara Dorabji, who was scheduled to speak at the September 26 panel about the experiences of survivors of torture in Kashmir.
According to the Free Arfat Sheikh Campaign, Sheikh entered the US legally in 2019 on a student visa to pursue graduate studies in film at Georgia State University. He later filed an asylum application in 2020 and has a pending immigration case.
The campaign said Sheikh is authorised to live and work in the US and is currently based in Alexandria, Virginia.
His friends, colleagues and family have launched a fundraising campaign seeking $50,000 to cover his legal expenses.
Arfat Sheikh’s Work on Kashmir
Sheikh grew up in Kashmir and has lived in the United States since 2019. He is a filmmaker, writer, producer and educator whose work focuses on identity, displacement, human rights and communities affected by conflict.
His debut feature film, Saffron Kingdom, explores conflict, displacement and identity in Kashmir. The film has been screened at theatres, universities and cultural institutions in the US and abroad.
Saffron Kingdom has received awards at several independent film festivals. Sheikh was also named an Emerging Filmmaker Activist at the Teaneck International Film Festival in 2025.
In a 2024 interview with The Independent, Sheikh said his film was intended to give Kashmiri people greater control over how their stories are told.
Video of Sheikh being detained by ICE agents at Dulles Airport ⬇️
(2/5) pic.twitter.com/ni8dHzzmJG— Free Arfat Sheikh (@freearfatsheikh) October 6, 2026Also Read“We Were Not Allowed to Vote”: Voters in West Bengal’s Rejinagar Allege Threats, Booth Rigging
“We have not been given the agency to tell our stories,” he said.
The film is currently available through Watermelon Pictures in more than 175 countries.
The circumstances surrounding Sheikh’s detention and the status of his immigration case remain subject to proceedings before US immigration authorities.
