Syrian national Kamel Maklad has been held in immigration detention in Arizona for more than two years. But last month, he spent about 30 minutes in a Venezuelan airport, after the U.S. put him on a deportation flight with almost 200 Venezuelans, he said.
Kamel Maklad, 38, has been held in immigration detention, mostly at Eloy Detention Center, for more than two years, despite a judge granting him “withholding of removal” to his home country of Syria in November 2024. Speaking to the Arizona Daily Star on a video call through a prison-messaging app, Maklad said he’s gotten no answers from ICE about his continued detention and is desperate for his freedom. Maklad is pictured here in a screenshot from an Oct. 21 video call with the Star.
Kamel Maklad is pictured in 2023, sometime before he crossed the U.S.-Mexico border into Arizona, according to his sister, who shared the photo with the Star.
Kamel Maklad, 38, has been held in immigration detention, mostly at Eloy Detention Center, for more than two years, despite a judge granting him “withholding of removal” to his home country of Syria in November 2024. Speaking to the Arizona Daily Star on a video call through a prison-messaging app, Maklad said he’s gotten no answers from ICE about his continued detention and is desperate for his freedom. Maklad is pictured here in a screenshot from an Oct. 21 video call with the Star.
Kamel Maklad is pictured in 2023, sometime before he crossed the U.S.-Mexico border into Arizona, according to his sister, who shared the photo with the Star.
