ICE Arrested Him After 20 Years — Court Rules It Was Illegal

You followed every rule ICE gave you for two decades. You checked in on time, asked permission before traveling, built a life. Then one morning, officers appear at your door. That is what happened to Kaveh Abedi — and a federal appeals court ruled in October 2026 that what the government did to him was legally wrong.

What happened to Kaveh Abedi

Abedi arrived in the US from Iran in 1991 at age ten. His family was granted asylum. As a young adult, he was convicted of a single drug possession charge in California, which put him in removal proceedings. In 2002, an immigration judge granted him deferral of removal under the Convention Against Torture (CAT) — a legal protection for people who face a serious risk of being tortured if returned to their home country. ICE released him under an order of supervision. For more than 20 years, he complied with every condition: attending check-ins, getting advance approval before traveling out of state. He married a US citizen in 2016 and became her primary caregiver after her health declined.

In June 2025, after ICE approved his move from California to Kansas, officers arrested him at his home. They told his wife he was being deported to Iran. She told them he had his papers and would be killed if sent back. The officers drove him away anyway. ICE gave him a written notice saying his supervision was being revoked because removal to a country other than Iran had become a possibility. The notice promised him a prompt informal interview to respond to the revocation — but that interview did not happen for at least six months, and possibly never, according to the court record.

Abedi filed a habeas petition (a legal challenge to the lawfulness of his detention) in July 2025. The district court in Kansas denied it. He appealed. While the appeal was pending, he filed a second habeas petition arguing he had been held for more than six months with no real chance of removal — a threshold set by the Supreme Court in Zadvydas v. Davis (2001). The district court granted that second petition in February 2026, and Abedi was released. The government then tried to dismiss the appeal as moot. The Tenth Circuit refused. The court ruled in October 2026 that the case fell under an exception for wrongs that can happen again but are hard to challenge in court — and that the district court made multiple legal errors when it denied Abedi's original petition.

Why this ruling matters for deportation defense

The Tenth Circuit's decision reinforces two key protections. First, ICE must follow its own regulations when revoking a supervision order — including giving the person a prompt informal interview. Skipping that step violates due process. Second, under Zadvydas, the government generally cannot hold someone indefinitely if there is no realistic chance of removing them in the near future. The court sent the case back to the district court for further proceedings consistent with its opinion. Attorney Rekha Sharma-Crawford of Sharma-Crawford Attorneys at Law in Kansas City represented Abedi.

What to do

• If you are under an order of supervision and ICE revokes it, you have the right to a prompt informal interview before or shortly after re-detention. Ask your attorney to demand that interview in writing immediately.
• If you have been detained for more than six months and removal is not realistically happening soon, talk to an immigration lawyer about filing a habeas petition under Zadvydas v. Davis.
• Keep records of every ICE check-in, every travel permission you requested, and every document ICE gave you. This evidence is critical if you ever need to challenge a detention.
• If ICE officers come to your home, you have the right to remain silent and the right to speak with an attorney. Do not sign anything without legal advice.

A full breakdown of this topic — in our guide “Your Rights During an ICE Encounter”.