San Diego judge rules that feds denied Afghan interpreter’s due process rights, orders his release

A San Diego federal judge Friday ordered an Afghan man who once had assisted the U.S. military as an interpreter to be released from custody.

Sayed Naser Noori was arrested by immigration authorities in June while appearing at his first asylum hearing since entering the United States last year.

At the hearing, Noori’s case was dismissed after government attorneys argued his notice to appear in court was “improvidently issued.” He was then arrested and placed in expedited removal proceedings.

U.S. District Judge Gonzalo Curiel wrote in a brief order issued Friday that among his findings, Noori’s humanitarian parole was revoked “without notifying him, providing him reasoning for the revocation or giving him an opportunity to be heard,” which the judge said deprived Noori of his due process rights.

Curiel wrote that revoking his type of parole “requires written notice of termination, which petitioner was not provided.”

Along with his release, the judge ordered that Noori be returned to his original parole conditions.

Shawn VanDiver, president of the nonprofit AfghanEvac, which aims to help relocate and resettle Afghan allies, said in a recorded statement posted on social media, that the judge’s decision is “such good news and we think that the court order will have implications for other people in his situation.”

Noori’s asylum documents state that the Taliban killed his brother at a family wedding. The application also notes that in addition to working as a translator, his family ran a company that contracted with the United States.

Noori wrote that he feared returning to Afghanistan due to potential retaliation for assisting the U.S.

AfghanEvac says Noori entered the U.S. through a CBP One – an app used by Customs and Border Protection – appointment last year at San Ysidro.