Washington, Oct 7: An award-winning Kashmiri filmmaker Arafat Sheikh has been detained by the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on arrival at the Dulles International Airport here, an advocacy campaign seeking his release said.
Sheikh, a resident of Alexandria, Virginia, was detained by ICE on September 24, the campaign Free Arafat Sheikh said.
It claimed that Sheikh, who is a Kashmir-born filmmaker, is in the US on a student visa to pursue film studies at Georgia State University and has a pending immigration application.
Sheikh gained international recognition for his debut feature film, Saffron Kingdom, which screened in more than 100 theaters and was streamed in 175 countries, as per Anadolu news agency.
The production received honors including Best Feature Film at the Anatolian International Film Awards, Chicago Filmmakers Award, and Los Angeles Film and Documentary Awards, as well as an Emerging Filmmaker distinction at the Teaneck International Film Festival.
The campaign launched online said Sheikh was detained shortly after stepping off his flight. It alleged that ICE agents took him into custody even as he presented his immigration documents.
ICE, the US agency responsible for enforcing federal immigration laws, can detain non-citizens over suspected immigration violations or while their immigration status or applications are being reviewed. (With inputs from PTI)
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