- Online posts claimed that in 2025 U.S Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrested a disabled U.S. Army veteran named Muhammad Zahid Chaudhry, originally from Pakistan, who had been living in the United States since at least 2001.
- Court documents confirmed he is a veteran who was discharged for service-connected disability.
- The Department of Homeland Security and ICE cited Chaudhry's nonviolent criminal history outside of the U.S., as well as "a disturbing pattern of deceit for immigration-related purposes," as reasons for his arrest and detainment.
- Chaudhry's family and supporters suggested his ongoing immigration struggles were retaliatory because he refused an assignment during his service that he felt "violated both his conscience and his oath."
- DHS blamed an "activist Biden judge" for Chaudhry's court-ordered release in December 2025 and told Snopes the facts of the case had not changed. An ICE representative said via email, "U.S. military service alone does not automatically grant lawful immigration status, or exempt aliens from the consequences of violating U.S. immigration laws."
- Snopes has reached out to Chaudhry and will update this article if we hear back.
Rumors that a disabled U.S. Army veteran named Muhammad Zahid Chaudhry was arrested and detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement circulated online in March 2026.
Users on social media sites such as Facebook (archived) shared the story, claiming that a "wheelchair-bound" veteran was "thrown in jail" for months until a judge declared him wrongfully detained and ordered him released.
In short, the claim was true. The Department of Homeland Security and ICE pointed to Chaudhry's legal history as a reason for his arrest and detainment.
Chaudhry, originally from Pakistan, has a long history of legal troubles and immigration struggles that appeared to culminate in his detainment once the administration of President Donald Trump ramped up its deportation efforts in January 2025.
ICE arrested Chaudhry on Aug. 21, 2025, when he reported for an immigration services interview as part of his citizenship process, The Seattle Times reported.
Stated reasons for the arrest
DHS pointed to Chaudhry's alleged nonviolent criminal history outside of the United States as the reason for his attempted removal, including "financial deception, possession of stolen goods, and falsifying passports."
A court document from 2010 showed Chaudhry was convicted on fraud charges in Australia during the 1990s for attempting to use stolen passports and credit cards, allegedly obtained while working as a taxi driver.
The same document outlined other accusations against Chaudhry, including that his Record of Military Processing included false or misleading information about his past, and that
The document specified that "prior to any deployment overseas to Iraq, Chaudhry claimed that he sustained a back injury during training exercises in the United States. Chaudhry never served in the Army in Iraq or elsewhere overseas."
Chaudhry's Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty supported this claim, saying he was "ordered to active duty in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom" but specified his place of duty as Seattle and "did not serve in an imminent danger pay area."
DHS further alleged that Chaudhry "collected $449,459.82 in taxpayer dollars" from the Veteran's Benefits Administration and "owes the United States government a negotiated payment of $81,080 for a mortgage reduction grant from the VBA."
When reached for comment, DHS Acting Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis repeated DHS' claims against Chaudhry in nearly identical language to that in the agency's statement and said that "the facts have not changed."
Bis blamed an "activist Biden judge" for Chaudhry's eventual release in December 2025.
A spokesperson for ICE sent Snopes the same DHS webpage and wrote via email, "DHS and ICE value the contributions of all those who have served in the U.S. military. U.S. military service alone does not automatically grant lawful immigration status, or exempt aliens from the consequences of violating U.S. immigration laws."
Chaudhry's defenders
Chaudhry's August 2025 arrest received widespread attention in Seattle's local media at the time, sparking protests, and also made its way to "The Rachel Maddow Show" and Newsweek.
A website dedicated to Chaudhry and his immigration struggles, managed by his wife — Congressional candidate Melissa Chaudhry — described Chaudhry as an "honorable, decorated, disabled U.S. Army veteran whose earned citizenship has been unlawfully delayed for more than 20 years.
As shown above, the claim he was "injured during Operation Iraqi Freedom" could be misinterpreted to mean he was deployed to Iraq, but official documentation showed that was not true.
The site further claimed that Chaudhry's struggles with immigration is deliberate retaliation by way of "decades of legal persecution: repeated threats of deportation, prolonged delays, and crushing legal expenses."
The site explained:
During his military service, Zahid was sought out by intelligence agencies in connection with his mental-health specialization—work that can intersect with counterintelligence screening and assessment. He was offered significant compensation and benefits in exchange for cooperation that would have required him, in his view, to falsely implicate others. He refused, believing such actions violated both his conscience and his oath.
The Chaudhrys had not responded to our inquiries as of this writing but we will update this article if we hear back.
Chaudhry's medical history showed repeated visits to medical professionals for "chronic back pain" and confirmed his use of a wheelchair as a result.
A court document, embedded below, included "firsthand accounts and direct attestations of service, integrity, family, and community standing" as well as as well a Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty and a letter from the VA that confirmed Chaudhry's disability was "service-connected."
In the document, Chaudhry stated, "I am an honorable, decorated, disabled veteran of the U.S. Army. My military service left me permanently disabled, wheelchair-bound, and suffering from traumatic brain injury, chronic migraines, and vision loss."
Chaudhry was ultimately released from the ICE detention facility in Tacoma, Washington, on Dec. 22, 2025, by order of U.S. District Judge David G. Estudillo, as reported by The Seattle Times.
After the arrest
Following Chaudhry's arrest on Aug. 21, 2025, the Washington chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations posted a statement urging authorities to release Chaudhry, calling him a "prominent community member" and citing his membership of the Olympia, Washington, chapter of Veterans for Peace.
Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell publicly advocated for Chaudhry's release. On Aug. 28, Harrell issued a statement that said, "I stand with those calling for his release and for an immigration system that honors dignity, service, and fairness."
DHS posted an news release with the headline "DHS Sets the Record Straight about Pakistani Criminal Illegal Alien with Extensive History of Fraud Across the Globe" as a direct response to Harrell's statement, calling it a "sob story."
The DHS article confirmed Chaudhry's arrest on Aug. 21, when he showed up for an appointment with Immigration Services "and was apprehended after law enforcement determined he was in violation of federal immigration law and had a final order of removal by an immigration judge."
Past reports of legal and immigration struggles
The DHS webpage also listed multiple court rulings involving Chaudhry that cited his "history of deception," including the aforementioned document from 2010, in which U.S. District Judge Lonny R. Suko wrote, "this Court finds that a disturbing pattern of deceit for immigration-related purposes permeates this case."
The Seattle Times reported on Chaudhry's fight against deportation in 2010, shortly before Suko filed his opinion. Local NBC affiliate KING-TV also reported on Chaudhry's story in January 2011.
In 2018, the Party for Socialism and Liberation posted an article about Chaudhry and a movement of solidarity against his deportation, reporting "the judge's decision was to grant lawful residence status to Zahid Chaudhry."
The DHS news release about Chaudhry said the Board of Immigration Appeals issued a new order of removal in February 2020, citing that "to permit him to remain permanently in the United States despite his habitual abuse of our legal institutions would not be in the best interests of the United States overall."
Although Snopes couldn't find official documentation of that decision on the Board of Immigration Appeals website, the same decision was referenced in Chaudhry's petition for a writ of habeas corpus, an official order that forces law enforcement to justify further incarceration for inmates "who say their state prosecutions violated federally protected rights in some way" that was filed on Dec. 22, 2025, the day of his release.
The opening of the petition read:
Petitioner seeks a writ of habeas corpus ordering the Respondents to release him from detention. Petitioner is civilly detained at the Northwest Immigration and Customs Enforcement Processing Center ("NWIPC") based on a February 27, 2020 order of removal issued by the Board of Immigration Appeals ("BIA"). The 2020 removal order is the subject of a pending appeal before the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. On May 19, 2020, the Ninth Circuit entered an order staying removal until the issuance of a mandate or further order of the Ninth Circuit.
Upon the Ninth Circuit's affirmative order staying removal, Respondents lacked authority to enforce the 2020 order or removal, see 8 U.S.C. § 1231(a), and therefore lacked authority to detain Petitioner without due process. Accordingly, Petitioner's detention was and is unlawful, and Respondents are ordered to release Petitioner.
The document, signed by Estudillo, stated in conclusion that "Chaudhry was to be released within 24 hours" and "not be re-detained until after he is provided written notice of the basis for revoking his release along with an appropriate opportunity to respond to notice."
In sum, while Chaudhry's immigration and legal history and DHS' assertions against him are complicated, the core of the claim — that a disabled U.S. veteran was arrested and detained by ICE — was true.