WA rally for the release of Zahid Chaudhry
Tacoma, WA – On August 24, standing in intense heat, over 200 supporters rallied outside of Tacoma’s Northwest Detention Center in response to the detainment of Zahid Chaudhry.
Chaudhry is a veteran, a father, and an advocate for Palestine who was detained during a naturalization interview. Speakers denounced ICE, the Trump administration, Zionism, the Democratic Party leadership and the ongoing detainment of Zahid Chaudhry.
Zahid Chaudhry had been living in the United States for 25 years with a green card. Injured after his time in the U.S. military from 2001 to 2005, Zahid uses a wheelchair and has been in a court battle for naturalization for over a decade. On August 21, Zahid Chaudhry attended his naturalization proceedings where he was detained by ICE.
Melissa Chaudhry, activist and Zahid’s wife, said, “My husband, decorated, disabled, U.S. Army veteran Mohammed Zahid Chaudhry, who has been in a wheelchair for 20 years due to his service-connected disabilities, was taken from us. How dare they?”
As of August 24, Zahid is being kept in solitary confinement all day with bright light, no accommodations for his disabilities, and very little communication. He also wears a blue band that indicates that he is considered a lower risk than other inmates. Solitary confinement has been recorded to have many adverse effects.
“I met Zahid on a street corner rally in Renton for Palestine organized by highschoolers, because he knew that we need to be active in the community, fighting,” said Mathieu Chabaud, a speaker for Freedom Road Socialist Organization. “Trump wants to silence us and cut us off from our communities. Him imprisoning activists like Zahid using immigration terror is designed to cut us off from community, but we’re not going to let that happen.
Melissa Chaundhry is currently calling for her husband’s release under bond. “He does not have to be kept behind bars. He has always shown up for all of his hearings.
“Zahid has been detained. Whatever they say officially, he has been detained because he’s an anti-war activist,” said Workers Strike Back founder Kshama Sawant as a speaker in the rally.
The August 24 emergency rally was organized on short notice by a coalition of impacted people and community organizations including Veterans for Peace, International Migrant Alliance, Workers Strike Back, and Freedom Road Socialist Organization
Activists and community members rallied outside the NWDC for hours, filling the air with chants like “Brick by brick, wall by wall, this racist system has to fall!” After speakers finished, the rally closed, many echoing the sentiment that they would continue to fight for Zahid Chaundhry and all people detained at the Northwest Detention Center.