Couple’s Honeymoon Ends with Bride in ICE Detention

What began as a joyful honeymoon for two newlyweds from Texas has morphed into a months-long ordeal in the depths of America’s immigration system, shining a harsh light on the chaos, cruelty, and confusion at the heart of federal policy.

Taahir Shaikh, a U.S. citizen, never imagined that his wedding would be followed by a fight to keep his new wife, 22-year-old Ward Sakeik, from being torn away from him—possibly forever.

“She’s not a criminal. She’s my wife. And she’s been locked away like she’s invisible to the world,” Shaikh told us, his voice breaking with exhaustion after his 18th visit to the detention center in Texas where Sakeik is being held.

The young couple’s love story began like any other. Taahir needed some professional photos for a new job. Ward was his photographer. Three years later, they married, hoping to build their life together in Texas.

Their honeymoon took them to the U.S. Virgin Islands—a destination well within U.S. borders, or so they thought. But their dream vacation ended in a nightmare when, on their way home, Sakeik was suddenly detained by U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents at the St. Thomas Airport.

She’s been trapped in ICE custody ever since.

Sakeik’s story is a tangle of statelessness and bureaucratic indifference. Born in Saudi Arabia to a family from Gaza, she has no citizenship in any country. The family fled Saudi Arabia 14 years ago, hoping for safety in the U.S. when Ward was just 8. They applied for asylum, but their case was denied. Still, ICE permitted them to remain—granting Ward work permits and requiring regular check-ins. She grew up in Texas, attending American schools, building a life.

“She’s lived here almost her entire life,” said her husband. “She’s American in every way that matters, except on paper.”

Ward’s lawyer, Waled Elsaban, explains: “She is legally stateless. The U.S. is the only home she’s ever really known. Deporting her isn’t just cruel—it’s senseless. There’s nowhere for her to go.”

According to Shaikh, they double-checked before traveling. ICE told them a trip to the U.S. Virgin Islands would be fine. TSA and airline staff confirmed: a U.S. driver’s license was all they’d need.

But on their way home, ICE agents accused Ward of trying to “reenter” the U.S.—claiming that flying over international waters counted as “leaving the country,” even though the Virgin Islands are a U.S. territory.

“She was handcuffed on the plane. Shackled in front of strangers. Separated from me with no explanation,” Shaikh said. Ward spent three weeks locked up in Miami before being transferred to a detention facility in rural Texas. Her family says she is traumatized.

The ordeal reached new heights last week. Ward says ICE woke her up before dawn, loaded her onto a bus with other detainees, and told her she was being deported—without saying where.

“An officer told her she was being taken to the Israeli border,” Shaikh said, even though Ward has never set foot in Israel or Gaza and is not recognized as a citizen there. After waiting for hours at the airport, the group was abruptly sent back to detention. ICE later claimed the planned flight was canceled due to security concerns after Israel launched airstrikes on Iran.

Ward and her legal team were left scrambling for answers. “We still don’t know where they were planning to send her. They never provided any documentation, never gave her a chance to challenge the removal,” said attorney Elsaban.

DHS offered only confusing, contradictory statements. First, officials claimed that Ward “left the U.S.” by visiting the Virgin Islands. Later, they insisted she had flown “outside the U.S. customs zone,” triggering a flag at reentry. Neither explanation makes sense, legal experts say.

“She’s stuck in a procedural black hole,” Shaikh said. “They’re punishing her for something that happened when she was eight years old—something she had no control over. She doesn’t even remember what a courtroom looks like.”

Meanwhile, Ward’s green card application—filed by her husband just days after her detention—remains in limbo.

“This administration talks about family values,” said Shaikh. “What about our family? What about my wife, who’s never known another home?”

Ward’s family is gripped by fear. “We wake up every day not knowing if she’ll be ripped from us, sent to a place she’s never been, where she doesn’t even speak the language,” said her mother, who asked not to be named for fear of reprisal.

Civil rights advocates say Ward’s case is part of a much bigger problem. “Stateless people fall through the cracks of our system every day,” said a spokesperson for the ACLU. “Detaining and threatening to deport someone to a war zone, or to a country that won’t even recognize them, is unconscionable.”

As for Taahir, he’s left clinging to hope: “All we want is a fair shot—a chance for my wife to live safely, legally, and with dignity in the only country she’s ever called home.”