Kashmiri filmmaker Arfat Sheikh has been released from US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody on bond after being detained on September 24, according to a campaign organized by his friends and relatives.
The 42-year-old award-winning filmmaker was released Thursday after receiving bond approval Tuesday, but deportation proceedings against him remain active, with his next immigration hearing scheduled for October 27.
Sheikh was detained at Washington Dulles International Airport after arriving on a flight from California, according to the campaign advocating for his release.
Originally from India-administered Kashmir, Sheikh resides in Alexandria, Virginia, and entered the United States in 2019 on a student visa to pursue graduate film studies at Georgia State University.
He applied for asylum in 2020, and his supporters maintain that his application remains pending and that he was authorized to live and work in the country.
The Department of Homeland Security confirmed his September 24 arrest, stating that Sheikh had entered the United States legally but subsequently overstayed his authorized admission.
The department emphasized that a pending immigration application does not independently confer lawful immigration status and said Sheikh would receive due process.
Sheikh's detention occurred amid intensified immigration enforcement under President Donald Trump's administration, which has expanded arrests and deportation efforts nationwide.
ICE recorded approximately 50,000 arrests across July and August, reflecting heightened enforcement activity.
In August, the administration announced efforts to identify foreign nationals who entered on temporary visas before seeking asylum to remain permanently.
Trump has defended his immigration policies as necessary for domestic security, while rights advocates have raised concerns about due process, free speech and racial profiling.
Sheikh's filmmaking has focused on conflict and displacement in Kashmir, including his 2024 debut feature, Saffron Kingdom.
The film follows a family's journey from Srinagar in the 1990s to Atlanta in 2019 and received multiple international film festival awards.
Sheikh also received the Emerging Filmmaker Activist Award at the Teaneck International Film Festival in 2025.
Despite his release, his immigration case remains unresolved.