A small crowd of people, including elected officials, teachers, activists and his attorney, gathered at Cheshire’s Town Hall on Friday to welcome back Rihan, a high school senior who had been detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement more than two weeks earlier.
Rihan did not stand at the main podium, take questions or pose for pictures, but from his position on the side of the room, he quietly replied “thank you” when his attorney, Lauren Cundick Petersen, welcomed him home.
Petersen has been working to free Rihan from detention since April 6, when Immigration and Customs Enforcement took him from a car outside of his Cheshire home. Last year, ICE agents detained Rihan’s father, Zia.
Zia, who was a translator for U.S. Armed Forces in his native Afghanistan, was detained by ICE last summer, and eventually released after four months at the same Plymouth, Massachusetts, detention center where Rihan was held this month.
In Zia’s case, he was detained while going to a routine immigration appointment in East Hartford. He also had no criminal history and the entire family came to the U.S. legally on humanitarian parole, which expires in October of this year. They were in the process of applying for green cards when the detentions took place.
Petersen said that the government has argued that Rihan’s detainment was based on a computer system error about when his humanitarian parole status will expire.
The mood on Friday was celebratory yet wary. Rihan’s uncle Tariq, who was with Rihan when he was detained, expressed thanks to the many people in the room who worked for Rihan’s release.
“We are very appreciate of and grateful to all the Cheshire community and all the delegations and everybody who has supported us in this hard time,” Tariq said.
The case comes as the Trump administration considers sending 1,100 Afghan allies to the Democratic Republic of Congo from a refugee camp in Qatar.
“We’re so proud that you’re back, so proud that you call Cheshire home, so proud that you call Connecticut home, and your story is amazing,” said Gov. Ned Lamont. The governor said he’d spoken with Rihan, who shared details from the detention center.
“He shared a room with four other folks, some quite a bit older, very different backgrounds, and Rihan was there, and he asked to get his homework,” Lamont said. “He wanted to do his homework so he didn’t fall behind.”
When Rihan was detained, his parole status was revoked. It has not yet been reinstated.
Attorney General William Tong said that in Rihan’s release he sees an example of the power of collective action. He assured Rihan and his family that the state would continue to support them as they seek to remain in this country.
“This is your home, and don’t let anybody else tell you that it’s not. Cheshire, Connecticut, as long as you want to be here, this is your home, and we will do everything we can to keep you here and not let anybody take that away from you,” Tong said.
Rep. Liz Linehan, D-Cheshire, said that countless residents reached out to her asking if they could help. She told the family that Cheshire would stand watch to make sure ICE doesn’t return for the family yet again.
“When you mess with one person in Cheshire, you mess with us all,” she said. Looking to Rihan she said, “we consider you our own.”
Rihan’s chemistry teacher, Susan Chasen, said that Rihan is an excellent student and is expected to graduate from Cheshire High School in June.
