Award-winning Kashmiri filmmaker Arfat Sheikh has been detained by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) at Washington Dulles International Airport, according to an advocacy campaign seeking his release — a case that has drawn attention in India and among the Kashmiri-American community.
Sheikh, 42, lives in Alexandria, Virginia, and was travelling with author and filmmaker Tara Dorabji to Washington to take part in an "Art as Resistance" panel when ICE agents took him into custody on September 24, shortly after his flight from California landed.
What his supporters say
The "Free Arfat Sheikh" campaign, launched online by friends, colleagues and family, says Sheikh was detained without a warrant even as he presented his immigration paperwork. The campaign claims he entered the United States legally on a student visa in 2019 to pursue graduate studies in film at Georgia State University, later filed for asylum in 2020, and has a pending immigration application — authorised, they say, to live and work in the country.
Dorabji, who was accompanying him, described the scene in a statement reported by the Indian Express: as she got off the plane, she saw Sheikh pulled aside on the jetway and surrounded by men in plain clothes. "Tara, Tara. This is ICE. They have come for me," he called out. She said she never saw the men present a warrant or explain why they were taking him, and that he did not resist as they led him onto the tarmac. The campaign has released a video of the detention and is seeking to raise $50,000 for his legal representation.
Sheikh's film Saffron Kingdom has won several awards at American film festivals. He is reportedly being held at the Caroline Detention Facility in Virginia and was expected to appear before an immigration judge this week for a procedural hearing.
What the authorities say
The US Department of Homeland Security has offered a different account. According to a report published by The Daily Jagran, DHS confirmed the arrest and stated that Sheikh "legally entered the US on a temporary basis and illegally overstayed his lawful admittance," adding that a pending immigration application does not grant legal status to reside in the country.
ICE had not responded publicly to the allegations at the time of the initial reporting. The case remains unresolved, and the facts — including whether the detention followed proper procedure — are still being contested.
Note: some outlets spell his name "Arafat Sheikh"; the Indian Express, NDTV and his own campaign use "Arfat Sheikh."
Sources: The Indian Express, NDTV, The Daily Jagran
Sheikh, 42, lives in Alexandria, Virginia, and was travelling with author and filmmaker Tara Dorabji to Washington to take part in an "Art as Resistance" panel when ICE agents took him into custody on September 24, shortly after his flight from California landed.
What his supporters say
The "Free Arfat Sheikh" campaign, launched online by friends, colleagues and family, says Sheikh was detained without a warrant even as he presented his immigration paperwork. The campaign claims he entered the United States legally on a student visa in 2019 to pursue graduate studies in film at Georgia State University, later filed for asylum in 2020, and has a pending immigration application — authorised, they say, to live and work in the country.
Dorabji, who was accompanying him, described the scene in a statement reported by the Indian Express: as she got off the plane, she saw Sheikh pulled aside on the jetway and surrounded by men in plain clothes. "Tara, Tara. This is ICE. They have come for me," he called out. She said she never saw the men present a warrant or explain why they were taking him, and that he did not resist as they led him onto the tarmac. The campaign has released a video of the detention and is seeking to raise $50,000 for his legal representation.
Sheikh's film Saffron Kingdom has won several awards at American film festivals. He is reportedly being held at the Caroline Detention Facility in Virginia and was expected to appear before an immigration judge this week for a procedural hearing.
What the authorities say
The US Department of Homeland Security has offered a different account. According to a report published by The Daily Jagran, DHS confirmed the arrest and stated that Sheikh "legally entered the US on a temporary basis and illegally overstayed his lawful admittance," adding that a pending immigration application does not grant legal status to reside in the country.
ICE had not responded publicly to the allegations at the time of the initial reporting. The case remains unresolved, and the facts — including whether the detention followed proper procedure — are still being contested.
Note: some outlets spell his name "Arafat Sheikh"; the Indian Express, NDTV and his own campaign use "Arfat Sheikh."
Sources: The Indian Express, NDTV, The Daily Jagran
