Kashmiri Filmmaker Arafat Sheikh Detained at Dulles

Kashmiri filmmaker Arafat Sheikh was detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement at Dulles International Airport on September 24, according to the Free Arafat Sheikh campaign. A family member said on October 7 that Sheikh was likely to be released soon, but the reports provided no official confirmation of his custody status or a release date. The campaign said Sheikh was detained after stepping off a plane. It said he was held at the Caroline detention facility in Virginia. The accounts of the airport detention and its circumstances largely trace to the campaign; the reports did not include an explanation from ICE for why he was taken into custody. The campaign said Sheikh, 42, is a Kashmir-born filmmaker who lives in Alexandria, Virginia. It described him as being in the United States on a student visa to pursue graduate film studies at Georgia State University, with a pending immigration application, and said he was authorized to live and work in the country. These details were reported as the campaign’s account; the available reports did not provide independent confirmation of his immigration status or the basis for the detention.