One Veteran Returns, Another Detained: Zahid Chaudhry's Future Remains Uncertain

The future of a U.S. veteran detained at the Northwest ICE Processing Center remains uncertain, but his case is not unique. Many veterans have been deported, but very few have been able to return.

Muhammad Zahid Chaudhry (commonly referred to as Zahid) is a community leader on disability and veteran issues and has limited options to remain in the U.S. after being detained and denied bond by an immigration judge. Family members worry for his safety if deported.

Robert Vivar, codirector of Tijuana-based Unified U.S. Deported Veterans Resource Center since 2017, said a majority of people aren't aware that "somebody willing to die for this country could be deported."

To enlist in the military, a person must have legal residence, and they are told they can gain expedited citizenship through their military service, but it can be a challenging process. In many cases, it isn't until a veteran faces legal charges that they learn about the possibility of being deported, Vivar said.

This happened to Jose Tinajero, a veteran who was deported to Mexico after a drug charge in Washington State.

It's unclear how many veterans have been deported because Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has not been following policies requiring them to review military service before deportation. ICE also doesn't track how many veterans are ultimately deported, according to a report by the Government Accountability Office in 2019.

The Deported Veterans Resource Center has helped more than 65 deported veterans access legal resources, medical care, job searching, and VA benefits, such as their pension, but other organizations claim to know of hundreds of deported veterans internationally.

A Detained U.S. Veteran's Future Hangs in the Balance

Zahid was honorably discharged from the U.S. Army in 2005 after sustaining a back injury that forced him to use a wheelchair. He has been living in the U.S. with legal residency for more than two decades. Since 2009, he has faced the threat of deportation and lengthy legal battles for U.S. citizenship.

Federal officials said he failed to disclose charges he pleaded guilty to when applying for U.S. citizenship. Zahid pleaded guilty to using a false passport and credit card when he lived in Australia in 1996, before arriving in the U.S. He was detained on Aug. 21 during his citizenship interview in Tukwila.

During a bond hearing on Aug. 29, an immigration judge said she would take a few days to review Chaudhry's case. She denied bond later that day, according to his wife, Melissa Chaudhry. Melissa ran for Congress in 2024 in Washington's 9th Congressional District, which includes Southeast Seattle.

Zahid is currently on a removal of stay, which allows him to temporarily pause a deportation order while his case moves through the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. On Sept. 2, federal officials filed a motion to lift his removal of stay.

"They want to deport him as soon as possible, even while his appeal is still underway," Melissa said.

Once a veteran is removed from the U.S., returning is rare. It mainly involves vacating the conviction that made someone deportable. Changes in state laws or obtaining a pardon from the governor or president can help, but can take years to do.

Humanitarian parole has allowed veterans to temporarily return to the U.S. to address their case. They can receive medical care and a work permit once they return. But lately, Vivar said he has not heard of any applications for humanitarian parole being approved.

Tinajero, a formerly deported veteran, said that in most cases, "the only way we can come back as a deported veteran to the United States legally is in the coffin, because they could not take away that right to be buried in the National Cemetery as a veteran. Once you're dead, they can't stop you from coming back in that box."

Fortunately for Tinajero, he made it back to South King County before the coffin.

Deported Veteran Returns to the U.S.

Tinajero came to the U.S. in 1969 when he was 9 years old as a legal resident and worked as a farm worker alongside his parents. Growing up, he said he had a difficult home life and joined the U.S. Army looking for an escape.

When he joined the military, the recruiter told him that he would automatically be a citizen. He didn't realize there was a formal application process, so he never applied.

After his military service, Tinajero said "he fell in with the wrong crowd" and was then charged with a drug offense in Washington State. After his conviction and time in prison, he thought that his military service would prevent him from being deported. Directly after finishing his prison sentence, ICE detained him for a year and deported him in 1997.

"It's hard to put into words, I felt betrayed when I was deported," Tinajero said. He acknowledged he committed a crime but also said he paid for his mistake.

When asked about whether Tinajero faced challenges after being deported to Mexico, he took a long pause before answering. "I'm trying to let that sink in and see how I can best answer that," he said. "Imagine being uprooted from everything you know … I was scared."

According to Vivar, many veterans find it difficult to integrate back into civilian life after experiencing the horrors of war and being taught to be aggressive and violent. Upon returning, PTSD, traumatic brain injuries, and sexual trauma can hinder their ability to reintegrate. Vivar said citizen veterans have access to more resources than non-citizen veterans. Instead, non-citizen veterans are incarcerated and deported.

Deported veterans, like many immigrants in the U.S., often came to the U.S. as young children and don't remember living in their country of birth. Outside of the U.S., they face challenges in adjusting to their new conditions due to language, cultural, or bureaucratic barriers.

Tinajero spent more than 25 years in Mexico before finding an opportunity to work toward his U.S. citizenship. In 2021, he began working with a lawyer through a deported veterans organization. He obtained humanitarian parole and was able to temporarily return to the U.S. to address his case.

After extensive efforts to vacate the original conviction, Tinajero was granted citizenship two years ago and became emotional recalling the memory of sobbing as he crossed the border into the U.S. Tinajero now lives in Kent and is working toward his master's degree. He wants to help other deported veterans return to the U.S. and support them with resources and advocacy.

Zahid's Future

While one veteran is reestablishing himself in the U.S., another is facing possible deportation. Zahid's options are limited after his bond was denied and federal officials are looking to deport him. His family worries his safety is at risk if he were deported back to Pakistan.

"Pakistan is a country in turmoil right now," Melissa said. Because of the conflict, "there's a whole side of that country that would like to kill him" because he is a U.S. veteran, she added.

She is not aware of any resources for veterans deported to Pakistan. Under the Trump administration, there are also concerns over third-country deportations.

"Funny enough, Zahid has been struggling with this for the last 20 years. He's been told multiple times, 'Hey, if you're deported, there's help available to bring you back,' but he hasn't been able to get help while he's here," Melissa said.

"So maybe there are other pathways once he's out of the country, but why does it have to come to that?" she added.

It's unclear when the 9th Circuit will reach a decision regarding Zahid's case.