Woman Detained on Honeymoon Faces Deportation Despite Being Stateless

Ward Sakeik, a 22-year-old who recently married a U.S. citizen, was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in February after returning from her honeymoon, and her husband fears she may soon be deported.

Newsweek has contacted ICE and Sakeik's husband for comment via email on Friday.

Why It Matters

Sakeik's detention, which Newsweek confirmed in the ICE detainee database, comes amid an immigration crackdown under the Trump administration. In addition to people residing in the country illegally, immigrants with valid documentation—including green cards and visas—have been detained and face legal jeopardy.

President Donald Trump has pledged to carry out the largest mass deportation operation in U.S. history, and in the initial months of his second term, his administration has deported more than 100,000 people. Many migrants have been deported as a result of Trump's invocation of the Alien Enemies Act of 1798, which grants the president authority to deport noncitizens without appearing before a judge, among other wartime authorities.

There have been several contested cases of people being deported to countries where they hold no citizenship, leaving them in legal and personal limbo. The administration's hard-line immigration policies have sparked fear in migrant communities and anti-ICE protests around the country.

What To Know

ICE detained Sakeik in February as she and her husband, Taahir Shaikh, returned from their honeymoon to the U.S. Virgin Islands. The couple got married in January.

Shaikh told reporters that his wife may be deported to an unknown location soon. The ICE detainee database showed that as of Friday, she was still being held at the El Valle Detention Facility in Raymondville, Texas.

However, a spokesperson for the Council on American–Islamic Relations (CAIR) told Newsweek that she was being detained in the Prairieland Detention Center in Alvarado, Texas.

Sakeik, who is of Palestinian descent, was born in Saudi Arabia but holds no citizenship there. Her husband said she was unable to obtain Saudi citizenship.

"She's stateless, she doesn't hold citizenship in any part of this world," he told WFAA.

Sakeik first came to the United States when she was 8 years old. Her husband said her family applied for asylum but a judge signed a removal order. She was later given legal permission to work in the country, he said.

She was in the process of obtaining her green card and had attended all the mandatory immigration appointments, with one slated for July prior to her detention, her husband said.

In December 2023, Sakeik graduated from the University of Texas at Arlington, where she obtained a bachelor's degree in broadcast journalism, her LinkedIn page said. She has been working as a wedding photographer for more than five years.

On Thursday, the North Texas chapter of CAIR held a news conference on the matter, saying in a media advisory, "Despite a pending green-card application, a lawful marriage to a U.S. citizen, and a spotless compliance record for the past 15 years, ICE has notified Sakeik's legal counsel that Sakeik could be removed as early as tonight—but will not disclose the destination country. Sakeik's husband fears she could be sent to a country that she has no birth or national ties to, after being given a life to live here for 15 years."

Following a wave of ICE raids in Los Angeles on June 6, the city saw people take to the streets in protest, with some demonstrations turning into violent confrontations with law enforcement. In response, Trump authorized thousands of National Guards to the California city, and 700 Marines arrived on Tuesday, intensifying tensions between the federal and state government.

Protests have since spread to other cities, including Dallas and Austin, Texas. Governor Greg Abbott announced the deployment of more than 5,000 Texas National Guard troops in response.

What People Are Saying

Mustafaa Carroll, the executive director of CAIR Dallas Fort Worth, said in a news release: "It is inhumane and shameful that a person who has followed every rule laid out by our government should be deported, especially a bride separated from her husband for simply taking a honeymoon. We demand transparency and justice before an irreversible mistake is made."

President Donald Trump wrote on Truth Social on Monday: "We made a great decision in sending the National Guard to deal with the violent, instigated riots in California. If we had not done so, Los Angeles would have been completely obliterated."

Commenting on the administration's proposal to revoke green cards, Amelia Wilson, an assistant professor at the Elisabeth Haub School of Law at Pace University, previously told Newsweek: "The Justice Department's position before the Third Circuit is yet another attempt to terrorize immigrant communities. The Trump Administration is telling noncitizens that they are never safe from sudden detention and deportation, even after they have followed the law, and even after they have been granted permanent residence by our own government."

What Happens Next

Shaikh has said he has not been able to speak with his wife for two days. ICE reportedly told his attorneys that she would be deported soon but did not say where.