'My whole world stopped': How a routine ICE check-in upended a Syrian-American family

'My whole world stopped': How a routine ICE check-in upended a Syrian-American family Mounira Elsamra on Tue, 08/25/2026 - 14:15 Community rallies behind Syrian business owner facing potential deportation Iemad Saifo poses for a photo with his family (Courtesy) Off When Zena Saifo arrived at a US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) office in New Jersey with her father, she expected a routine appointment. Her father, Iemad Saifo, had received a letter telling him to present himself for a "check-in". At the time, he believed he had little reason to worry; he had been working with his lawyers on his immigration case and had been complying with the requirements placed upon him. The family knew immigrants were being detained across the United States, but they didn't expect Iemad to be taken into custody. They arrived at an ICE office in Mount Laurel at 7.30am on 31 July for his 8am appointment. They waited several hours before an officer asked Iemad if he had any medication with him. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); "That's when I kind of started to question - is he going to be detained?" Zena told Middle East Eye. Soon after, Iemad was called to the back of the