Judge orders release of Iranian bodybuilder after nearly 5-month detention

SANTA FE N M AP A federal judge is ordering the release of an Iranian migrant and bodybuilder held by U S immigration government for over five months Attorneys for Hamid Ziaei commented Monday he was detained without apparent progress on deportation to a country other than Iran where he fears persecution Ziaei s attorneys stated a judge in Albuquerque that he was being held in violation of due process protections at an immigrant detention facility in New Mexico nearly six months after being taken into custody at a check-in appointment with U S Immigration and Customs Enforcement in California The U S establishment provided no evidence that there was any likelihood of Mr Ziaei s removal in the reasonable foreseeable future declared Rachel Landry a staff attorney at Innovation Law Lab Court filings on Ziaei s behalf say he fled Iran after speaking out against the cabinet there arriving in the U S in San Diego in January Though an asylum request was rejected Ziaei was published in mid- with authorization to work based on concerns he would be persecuted if returned to Iran That type of provisional release is far less common than asylum and allows administration to pursue removal to another safer country He made a living in Irvine California in elderly care food delivery and as a personal trainer before being taken back into U S custody in June In court documents an assistant field officer for ICE revealed the agency s Enforcement and Removal Operations division began vetting Ziaei for removal to a third country in August and initiated procedures to coordinate an interview with a foreign embassy that may accept him The U S attorney s office in New Mexico which is representing immigration officers declined to comment on the occurrence Monday In court filings immigration officers argued that they have at least six months to make removal arrangements under a U S Supreme Court ruling often invoked by immigrants detained for even longer U S District Court Judge Matthew Garcia declared he would issue an order for Ziaei s release within hours reported Landry and fellow Innovation Law Lab attorney Tiffany Wang In a comment signed Dec Ziaei declared his prolonged detention at the Torrance County Detention Facility has led to anxiety and panic attacks while dental work for three tooth infections was deferred until release and he lost weight and muscle This will make it hard to earn my livelihood as an athlete in the future he disclosed of the weight loss Source