Supporters of Kashmiri filmmaker Arfat Sheikh are demanding his immediate release after he was taken into custody by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers last month.
In a statement issued Tuesday, the advocacy group Free Arfat Sheikh said: "Sheikh was unlawfully detained by ICE at Washington Dulles International Airport on September 24, 2026."
According to the group, the 42-year-old artist, who currently resides in Alexandria, Virginia, came to the United States on a student visa in 2019 to pursue a graduate program in film at Georgia State University and applied for asylum in 2020.
The group added that Sheikh is being held at the Caroline Detention Facility in Bowling Green, Virginia.
According to a press release, the filmmaker was expected to appear before an immigration judge on Tuesday for a procedural hearing along with a bond assessment.
ICE and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security have not commented on the detention.
The advocacy campaign said Sheikh's debut feature film, Saffron Kingdom, has won numerous awards, including Best Narrative Feature at the Chicago Filmmakers Awards, the LA Film and Documentary Awards, the Melbourne Independent Film Festival, the Wake Forest Film Festival and the Anatolian International Film Awards.
In 2025, Sheikh was also honored with the Emerging Activist Filmmaker award at the Teaneck International Film Festival.
Sheikh's detention comes as ICE arrests across the United States reached record levels this summer, with roughly 50,000 recorded in July and August.
