New Jersey man arrested by ICE has no criminal history, wife says
A New Jersey woman battling breast cancer is also fighting to save her husband from deportation after she says he was arrested during a routine meeting with Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials.
Jennifer Metz said her husband, Karim Daoud, an Egyptian native, was detained over a month ago during a regular meeting with ICE about his immigration status, but he has no criminal history.
He is being held at the ICE detention center in Elizabeth.
New Jersey man arrested by ICE on unspecified charges
ICE has not specified what crime Daoud has been charged with. He has no criminal record, according to his wife.
An ICE spokesperson said in a statement to CBS News New York, "Karim Ahmed Daoud Mahmoud Salem, a native and citizen of Egypt, was arrested by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Mar. 12 for violating U.S. immigration laws. Daoud is currently detained at the Elizabeth Contract Detention Facility in Elizabeth, New Jersey, and is pending removal from the United States."
Days ago, federal immigration officials arrested Mohsen Mahdawi, a former Columbia University student, during what he thought was an interview to obtain citizenship. A judge ordered ICE to keep in him Vermont, where he lives.
Mahmoud Khalil, another Columbia student detained by ICE, is being held in an immigration detention center in Louisiana after his arrest in Manhattan. A judge recently ruled the government can continue its effort to deport him.
Last week, ICE said it had detained more than 200 migrants who entered the U.S. illegally during an operation in the New York City area.
Man spent 20 years trying to become a permanent U.S. resident, wife says
Daoud's wife said he came to the U.S. on a visa from Egypt more than 20 years ago, before the couple even met, and has been trying to become a permanent resident ever since.
"It takes a long time. There's a lot of time paused in between appointments and filings," Metz said. "We have two kids. We've been married for a long time. We have been doing everything that we have been told to do."
Metz, who lives in Hunterdon County, said pressure from elected officials is keeping her husband close enough for the family to visit almost every day.
"I'm keeping positive. We do talk to each other every day. I do visit him. The kids visit him," she said. "My faith and my hope that I'm bringing my husband home and everything is keeping me going. I honestly cannot see any other option." "
Friends and family are rallying around the couple, with hundreds attending a vigil Thursday night and donating money to their legal defense.
