Key facts
- Assimil Alkhawaja, a Saudi national with a valid work permit and pending asylum case, was arrested by ICE agents at Camp Pendleton.
- He spent eight days in an ICE detention center and is now subject to removal proceedings.
- Alkhawaja wears a GPS ankle monitor and must report to immigration officials regularly.
- He owns and operates Sands Coffee Roasters, a coffee business in San Diego.
- ICE has been conducting increased arrests in the San Diego region, affecting thousands of immigrants.
Assimil Alkhawaja, a 53-year-old Saudi national with a valid work permit, a pending asylum case, and a growing coffee business in San Diego, is facing intense scrutiny from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Alkhawaja was arrested by ICE agents while working as a Lyft driver at Camp Pendleton, a military base, and subsequently detained for eight days. He was then placed in removal proceedings and fitted with a GPS ankle monitor, a device typically reserved for high-risk individuals.
Alkhawaja, who holds a doctorate and owns Sands Coffee Roasters, expressed feelings of fear and anger, questioning his treatment and asking, “Is this America?” His experience highlights a broader trend of increased ICE arrests and monitoring in the San Diego region and across the country, impacting thousands of immigrants with legal battles that can span months or years.
According to his attorney, Sydney Johnson, the tactics employed by ICE aim to make it difficult for individuals to fight their cases, encouraging them to give up. Alkhawaja recounted being offered $3,000 by an agent to leave the country immediately after his arrest, an offer he refused. He described the detention center experience as being treated "like cattle, animals."
A spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security affirmed that immigration officers have the authority to question any alien or person believed to be an alien regarding their right to be or remain in the United States.