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Zia S., who was an interpreter helping the U.S. in Afghanistan, was arrested by ICE in Connecticut. Credit: New Haven Independent

An Afghan interpreter who once worked with U.S. armed forces in Afghanistan was released on bond on Tuesday after almost three months in immigration detention, according to his attorneys.

“I am deeply grateful to be reunited with my family and community,” Zia, whose full name is not being used due to concerns about his safety, said in a press release. “I came to this country because I believed America would protect me and my family after I had proudly served alongside American troops in Afghanistan. I still believe in America, and I want to continue rebuilding my life here and contribute to the community that has welcomed me.”

Zia, who came to the country through legal means, was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers on July 16 in East Hartford following a routine appointment with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. He was held at a Massachusetts detention facility in Plymouth.

Zia’s detainment was decried by lawmakers including U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., and U.S. Rep. Bill Keating of Massachusetts, who visited the detention facility where he was held in July to draw attention to the issue.

“For masked agents to snatch someone off the street with no warning, no counsel, no opportunity even to know who is doing it while it’s in process, is unAmerican,” Blumenthal said during a press conference after the July visit. “He actually worked and risked his life in Afghanistan to uphold the values and rights that are central to democracy. And for now, him to be, in effect, violated in his rights when he has fought for those rights here is completely disgraceful.”

Initially Zia was denied a bond hearing by an immigration judge, but attorney Lauren Cundick Petersen said that a different judge granted such a hearing. It took place on Tuesday, and the judge found that Zia met the criteria to be released on bond. Zia is still subject to ongoing immigration proceedings to resolve his immigration status and whether he will be allowed to remain in the U.S. permanently.

Petersen said her client was approved for humanitarian parole in 2024 due to direct Taliban threats that put his life in imminent danger. He came to the U.S. with his wife and children in October 2024. Since his arrival, Petersen said that Zia has found full-time work and continued on with the legal process of filing an application for a green card.

Laura Tillman is CT Mirror’s Human Services Reporter. She shares responsibility for covering housing, child protection, mental health and addiction, developmental disabilities, and other vulnerable populations. Laura began her career in journalism at the Brownsville Herald in 2007, covering the U.S.–Mexico border, and worked as a statehouse reporter for the Associated Press in Mississippi. She was most recently a producer of the national security podcast “In the Room with Peter Bergen” and is the author of two nonfiction books: The Long Shadow of Small Ghosts (2016) and The Migrant Chef: The Life and Times of Lalo Garcia (2023), which was just awarded the 2024 James Beard Award for literary writing. Her freelance work has appeared in The Wall Street Journal, New York Times and The Los Angeles Times. Laura holds a degree in International Studies from Vassar College and an MFA in nonfiction writing from Goucher College.