Palestinian Bride Freed from Immigra

Ward Sakeik, a stateless Palestinian woman who had been detained in February during her return from her honeymoon, has been released from immigration detention after over four months.

Expressing her joy and shock at a press conference on Thursday, she mentioned that it was her first time seeing a tree in five months.

She rushed to her husband who had arrived to pick her up and embraced him without restraint, describing the feeling as pure freedom.

Sakeik, 22, was detained in February on her way back from her honeymoon in the US Virgin Islands. Ever since she was nine, she complied with Immigration and Customs Enforcement check-ins.

The US government made two attempts to deport her, with the first instance occurring just as Israel launched an airstrike on Iran and the second time despite a judge’s order forbidding her removal from Texas.

Born in Saudi Arabia to a family from Gaza, Sakeik moved to the US on a tourist visa at age eight after her asylum application was denied. She and her family were allowed to stay in Texas as long as they checked in with ICE.

Over the years, she flourished, graduating from high school and college, starting a wedding photography business, and marrying her husband Taahir Shaikh. They had even purchased and started renovating a home together.

However, ten days after her wedding, Sakeik’s life took a dramatic turn when she was detained upon returning from her honeymoon.

During the press conference at a hotel in Irving, where she previously photographed weddings, she recounted her harrowing experience and how she was encouraged by her community to fight for her freedom.

Sakeik described being transferred between three different detention centers with unsanitary conditions and limited access to food and water. At Prairieland detention center, she stated that “women are getting sick left and right” due to the poor environment.

Throughout her confinement, Sakeik remained deeply worried about being deported and the uncertainty it would bring. She felt criminalized simply for being stateless, something beyond her control.

The Department of Homeland Security argued that Sakeik was flagged because she “chose to fly over international waters.” However, the Virgin Islands are a US territory, and no passport is required for travel there.

Despite the initial and continued attempts to deport her, Sakeik was eventually released. She expressed gratitude for her freedom and empathy for the many women she befriended during her imprisonment, vowing to continue fighting for their rights.