Award-winning Kashmiri filmmaker Arfat Sheikh has spoken publicly about his detention by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), describing how he was handcuffed at Washington Dulles International Airport and held in a freezing cell at a detention facility in Virginia.
Sheikh, who was returning to the United States to attend a public discussion on art and resistance in Kashmir, said he was detained despite having a pending immigration application and authorisation to live and work in the country.
In a statement dated November 8, Sheikh said plainclothes officers approached him after he stepped off his flight at Dulles airport and identified themselves as ICE agents.
“I was not shown a warrant. I was handcuffed, taken away from the airport, and transported to an ICE holding facility in Chantilly, Virginia,” he said.
He said officials took his belongings, including his jacket and shoelaces, before placing him alone in a cold concrete cell with blood stains on the floor.
Sheikh Recalls His Father’s Disappearance
Sheikh said the detention brought back memories of his father, Ghulam Nabi Sheikh, who he said had disappeared while travelling to Delhi.
“For a moment, I felt as though history was repeating itself,” he said, recalling his fear that his mother and sisters would again have to endure the uncertainty of not knowing where a family member had been taken.
He said his family had already experienced the trauma of his father’s disappearance and that he could not stop thinking about the impact his own detention would have on them.
Sheikh’s bond was granted on the morning of October 6. However, he said he remained in detention for another 60 hours and was released on October 8.
His next immigration hearing is scheduled for December 4 at 1 pm.
Filmmaker to Speak at Busboys and Poets Event
Sheikh is scheduled to make his first public appearance after his release on Friday, November 13, at 6 pm at the 450K location of Busboys and Poets in Washington, DC.
He will be in conversation with business owner Andy Shallal about his filmmaking, art as resistance and experience in ICE detention.
The event comes as supporters of Sheikh’s campaign are calling on the US Congress to abolish ICE and introduce stronger protections for asylum seekers and people held in immigration detention.
Campaign Calls for ICE Accountability
The Stand With Arfat Sheikh campaign has called for an end to Alexandria Sheriff Sean Casey’s collaboration with ICE, stronger legal protections against unlawful detention, independent oversight of detention facilities and accountability for alleged civil rights violations.
It has also called for stronger asylum protections, opposed the proposed establishment of an ICE headquarters in Washington, DC, and urged federal lawmakers to support the Reimagining Safety Act, which the campaign says would abolish ICE.
Sheikh said his release did not mean the struggle was over and urged people to remember those who remain detained.
“I have been released, but a part of me remains inside Caroline Detention Facility, with the men I came to know, the stories they shared, and the dreams they still carry,” he said.
The campaign also cited figures from the American Civil Liberties Union and The Marshall Project concerning deaths in ICE detention and the detention of children. These figures and the campaign’s broader allegations about ICE practices were not independently verified in the statement.
