Springfield, Missouri. An Afghan asylum seeker who fought alongside U.S. forces against the Taliban is being held by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement at the Greene County Jail, prompting a federal lawsuit challenging his arrest. Mohammad Ali Dadfar, 37, arrived in the United States with valid parole and work authorization in 2024 and has been employed as a commercial truck driver. He was detained on Oct. 10 after Indiana State Police held him at a weigh station for several hours before turning him over to ICE.
According to the lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri, Dadfar’s detention violates a 2022 federal consent decree governing ICE’s use of warrantless arrests across six Midwestern states. His attorney, Rekha Sharma-Crawford, argues that Dadfar posed no flight risk and should not have been taken into custody without a warrant. The case names Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, Greene County Sheriff Jim Arnott and ICE’s Chicago Field Office Director Samuel Olson as defendants.
The filing comes amid broader legal challenges to recent ICE operations, including Operation Midway Blitz, during which federal judges found immigration officials had fabricated details for warrants after arrests. NPR reporting cited in related cases indicates that 97% of more than 600 immigrants recently detained in the Chicago area had no criminal history.
Dadfar, who served as an Afghan military security officer assisting U.S. troops before the Taliban takeover, fears being sent back to Afghanistan. His next immigration court hearing is scheduled for Feb. 3, 2026.
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