World

Pak man spent 21 years in jail for murder in US, arrested again by ICE after release

Farhan Ahmed came to US from Pakistan legally in 2001 and obtained his green card in 2004

A Pakistani national who spent nearly two decades in prison for a fatal crime in New York has been arrested again by US immigration authorities.Farhan Ahmed legally entered US from Pakistan in 2001 as a young adult and later obtained a green card in 2004. He was taken into custody by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in New York City on May 1.According to US authorities, Ahmed committed a violent offence in Queens just a year after receiving permanent residency. He was convicted in connection with a homicide involving a weapon and sentenced to 21 years in prison. Another federal summary described the conviction as first-degree manslaughter with intent to cause serious physical injury.Ahmed was released from prison in 2023 after serving most of his sentence. ICE said he was arrested “without incident” and is now being held as immigration proceedings continue. The arrest was noted by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) as part of ICE’s latest “worst of the worst” enforcement initiative targeting foreign nationals convicted of serious crimes in US.“Under President Trump and Secretary Mullin, ICE never takes a day off,” acting Assistant DHS Secretary Lauren Bis told Just the News.She added: “This weekend, ICE arrested numerous murderers, pedophiles, sex criminals, violent assailants, drug traffickers, and fraudsters.”She said: “Thank you to our ICE law enforcement for arresting these criminals from our communities. ICE is nice.”Ahmed was among several foreign nationals named in the latest enforcement roundup released by DHS. Others included individuals from Mexico, Laos, El Salvador, Guatemala, Nicaragua and the Dominican Republic who had previous convictions ranging from manslaughter and assault to child sex crimes and drug offences.Among them was Maria Silvia Martinez-Vasquez of Mexico, who had been convicted of voluntary manslaughter, and Sengathith Sybounma of Laos, who was convicted of criminal sexual conduct involving a teenager.ICE has increasingly publicised such arrests as the Trump administration pushes tougher immigration enforcement policies and prioritises deportations involving people with criminal records. MAGA base is encouraging the authorities in doing the same in order to push the “America First” idea.According to DHS, millions of deportations and removals have been carried out during the administration through physical removals and voluntary departures through the border security app.