FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
OneAmerica Demands the Release of Zahid Chaudhry, U.S Veteran and Community Leader
OneAmerica joined 30+ organizations at the Northwest Detention Center Sunday to demand Zahid Chaudhry be reunited with his family
Seattle, WA– OneAmerica joined organizations, elected leaders and community members from across Washington State on Sunday in demanding the immediate release of U.S. Army veteran Muhammad “Zahid” Chaudhry. Zahid — a father, husband, decorated U.S. military veteran, longtime activist, and community member — was detained by ICE during his naturalization interview in Tukwila on August 21.
“Zahid has been organizing alongside OneAmerica since our founding in 2001. He is an exemplary community leader, father, and Washingtonian. His unjust detention affects us all. When you come for one of us, you come for all of us and OneAmerica will not stand by the sidelines as this administration continues to snatch up our people – tearing apart our families and our communities,” shared Guillermo Zazueta, Political & Organizing Manager with OneAmerica. “Billions of tax-payer dollars have been taken from our communities and funneled to federal agencies that will continue to do to others what they are doing to Zahid’s family. We must stand united to fight against authoritarianism in our state and country and call on our elected leaders to do more. Our demand is clear: Zahid must be freed and reunited with his loved ones, and immigrant families in Washington must be treated with the dignity and justice they deserve.”
Zahid Chaudhry is an Honorable, Decorated, disabled American veteran in a wheelchair due to injuries sustained in service to our country. He has a natural-born American wife and two American citizen children, ages 2 yrs and 8 months. He served in both the US Army and the National Guard and also served as a volunteer firefighter and paramedic in Yakima, WA prior to his injuries.
On August 23, Melissa Chaudhry, Zahid’s wife, visited him and he shared this message: “We must love our country enough to take a stand for courage and moral principle, that our government should not do anything unconstitutional to any one of us. Not based on race, religion, language, country of origin… to no one. The Constitution, that I swore the soldier’s oath to protect and defend, is the glue that keeps us together. It’s the foundation we stand on, as a nation and as people. If it falls apart – or gets torn apart – everything falls apart. Now is the time for courage. Now is the time for solidarity. Now is the time to decide what America means to us and stand for liberty and justice for ALL before it’s too late.”
“ICE has stolen a beloved husband, a fiercely tender father, and a passionately patriotic American. We are all the poorer for it. My family will suffer every day he is apart from us. Our two little children will cry from confusion over where their ‘baba’ has gone. And the fact that my husband’s body was broken in service to protect and defend the Constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic? That’s been tossed aside like rubbish,” shared Melissa Chaudhry. “Zahid always stood up for the underdog. He always fought for the goodness of our communities. We who know that liberty and justice for all must mean ALL – we know Zahid as the hero we all need. My family is suffering. My soul is shredded. The anchor of my life has been taken from me, with no warning, no explanation, and no mercy. And I have no idea when I’ll see him again. In the truest spirit of Islam, Zahid has always stood for uplifting humanity. For doing good. For believing in the best of people and striving for peace. He came to this interview in good faith, despite decades of evidence that they would lie, cheat, and trick to get their way. ICE must release this decorated, disabled American veteran – return the heart of my family – and show the world that America still stands for justice and peace.”
Our collective demands are to release Zahid immediately so he can be reunited with his family and grant him the citizenship rights he deserves. The public can sign this petition to free Zahid, or can chip in via this GoFundMe to support the fight to bring him home.
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OneAmerica organizes immigrant and refugee leaders and our allies to build power in our communities and run campaigns to create a just immigration system, inclusive education for all, and a truly representative democracy.