Husband fears for bride detained by ICE while returning from honeymoon

A newlywed man from Arlington said that his wife is currently in an ICE detention facility after being detained during their February honeymoon in the U.S. Virgin Islands.

A 22‑year‑old Palestinian woman, Ward Sakeik, who married a U.S. citizen, Taahir Shaikh, in January, is currently being held by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). She was detained at a Miami airport in February after returning from their honeymoon in the U.S. Virgin Islands

“The arrest of Ward Sakeik was not part of a targeted operation by ICE. She chose to fly over international waters and outside the U.S. customs zone and was then flagged by CBP trying to renter the continental U.S,” The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin told Newsweek.

Why It Matters

President Donald Trump has pledged to carry out the largest mass deportation operation in U.S. history, and in the initial months of his second term, his administration has deported more than 100,000 people. The White House has said anyone living in the country without legal status is considered to be a “criminal.”

What To Know

“The past 12 months of my life has just been the highest of the highs and the lowest of the lows. You go from buying your first home, planning your dream wedding, attending that wedding, going on your honeymoon, to being separated for over 120 days,” Taahir told NBC DFW.

The couple had just arrived in St. Thomas when federal authorities detained Sakeik, even though she had a pending green card application and documentation of her unique immigration circumstances. According to Shaikh, Sakeik was 8 years old when her family entered the U.S. on a visa. After their asylum request was denied, they were not deported due to her lack of citizenship in any country. Instead, they were placed under an order of supervision, requiring annual check-ins with immigration authorities.

She has been under a final order of removal since 2011. Her appeal of that order was dismissed by the Board of Immigration Appeals on February 12, 2014, according to DHS

DHS said that she overstayed her visa and has been under a final order of removal issued by an immigration judge for more than a decade.

Ward , a woman of Palestinian descent, was born in Saudi Arabia but does not hold citizenship there and is considered as stateless. According to her husband, she was unable to obtain Saudi citizenship. She arrived in the United States at the age of 8, and her family later applied for asylum. That application was denied, and a judge issued a removal order. Her husband stated that she was subsequently granted authorization to work legally in the U.S.

At the time of her detention, Sakeik was in the process of applying for a green card. Her husband noted that she had attended all required immigration appointments, with another scheduled for July.

What People Are Saying

Taahir said: “She’s considered stateless, which essentially just means you’re born in a country that doesn’t give you birthright citizenship. And since she was a Palestinian refugee that was born in Saudi Arabia, they weren’t recognized as Saudi nationals.”

McLaughlin told Newsweek: “The facts are she is in our country illegally. She overstayed her visa and has had a final order by an immigration judge for over a decade. President Trump and Secretary Noem are committed to restoring integrity to the visa program and ensuring it is not abused to allow aliens a permanent one-way ticket to remain in the U.S.

Mustafaa Carroll, the executive director of CAIR Dallas Fort Worth, said in a news release: “It is inhumane and shameful that a person who has followed every rule laid out by our government should be deported, especially a bride separated from her husband for simply taking a honeymoon. We demand transparency and justice before an irreversible mistake is made.”

What Happens Next

Ward remains detained at the Prairieland Detention Center in Alvarado after spending time in McAllen.