After two decades of resistance, Imam Foad Farahi detained by US, faces deportation

FLORIDA, United States (MNTV) — Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has detained Imam Foad Farahi, a longtime Miami-area religious leader, after more than 30 years in the United States.

Agents arrested the 50-year-old at his North Miami Beach home in June, then transferred him from Miami to Texas and finally to Torrance County Detention Center, a remote private jail in New Mexico that advocacy groups say suffers from sewage leaks and unsafe drinking water. He has remained there for months.

Farahi’s lawyers argue his incarceration is “purely punitive,” noting he has complied with immigration rules for years. They filed a habeas petition in federal court in New Mexico seeking his release.

The imam’s dispute with federal authorities dates back to 2004, when FBI agents approached him after evening prayers, seeking information on two men once linked to his mosque: José Padilla, accused of plotting a radioactive “dirty bomb,” and Adnan El Shukrijumah, later an Al Qaeda leader.

Farahi said he was willing to answer questions publicly but refused to secretly inform on fellow Muslims. “People trust you as a religious figure,” he recalled, “and you’re trying to deceive them.”

Pressure mounted in 2007 when ICE officers at an asylum hearing allegedly told him to abandon his case and accept deportation — or face terrorism charges. They also hinted he could avoid trouble by cooperating with investigators.

He declined, choosing instead to live under regular check-ins with immigration authorities. That arrangement ended after Donald Trump returned to the White House in January and ordered a sweeping crackdown that has ensnared thousands.

Farahi’s case raises concerns about how U.S. agencies have linked post-9/11 counterterrorism tactics with immigration enforcement, using deportation threats to secure informants.

ICE declined to comment on his detention.