A still from Saffron Kingdom.
Award-winning Kashmiri filmmaker Arfat Sheikh detained by US immigration
Sheikh was detained by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement after arriving at Washington
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Award-winning Kashmiri filmmaker Arfat Sheikh has been detained by US immigration authorities after travelling to the country legally to pursue his studies and later applying for asylum, according to his family and friends.
The US Department of Homeland Security confirmed that Sheikh was arrested on September 24. DHS said he had legally entered the United States temporarily but later overstayed his authorised period of admission.
The department said a pending immigration application does not itself provide legal status in the US and added that Sheikh would receive due process.
Sheikh was detained by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement after arriving at Washington Dulles International Airport on a flight from California, according to a statement issued by relatives and friends campaigning for his release.
Sheikh entered the US in 2019 on a student visa to pursue graduate studies in film at Georgia State University. He filed an asylum application in 2020, according to the statement. His supporters said he had a pending immigration application and had been authorised to live and work in the US.
Sheikh is from Kashmir and is known for his feature film ‘Saffron Kingdom’, released in 2024. The film won Best Feature Film at the Chicago Filmmakers Awards, the LA Film and Documentary Awards, the Melbourne Independent Film Festival, and the Wake Forest Film Festival. Sheikh also received the Emerging Filmmaker Activist Award at the Teaneck International Film Festival.
‘Saffron Kingdom’ follows a family from Srinagar whose story spans the 1990s in Kashmir and their later life in Atlanta in 2019.
Sheikh’s detention comes amid a broader US immigration crackdown under President Donald Trump’s administration. In August, the administration said it was seeking to identify and revoke non-immigrant visas of foreign nationals who entered the US as temporary visitors and subsequently applied for asylum to remain in the country.
Rights groups have criticised aspects of the immigration crackdown, raising concerns about due process and the treatment of immigrant communities.
With inputs from Agencies
Devadasan K P is the Chief Visual Editor at Gulf News, bringing more than 27 years of experience in photojournalism to the role. He leads the Visual desk with precision, speed, and a strong editorial instinct. Whether he’s selecting images of royalty, chasing the biggest celebrity moments in Dubai, or covering live events himself, Devadasan is always a few steps ahead of the action. Over the years, he has covered a wide range of major assignments — including the 2004 tsunami in Sri Lanka, the 2005 Kashmir earthquake, feature reportage from Afghanistan, the IMF World Bank meetings, and wildlife series from Kenya. His work has been widely recognised with industry accolades, including the Minolta Photojournalist of the Year award in 2005, the Best Picture Award at the Dubai Shopping Festival in 2008, and a Silver Award from the Society for News Design in 2011. He handles the newsroom pressure with a calm attitude, a quick response time, and his signature brand of good-natured Malayali humour. There's no fuss — just someone who gets the job done very well, every single time.
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