Assim Alkhawaja, a 53-year-old business owner originally from Saudi Arabia, was arrested by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in February 2026. The arrest occurred while he was dropping off passengers at Camp Pendleton, a military base in San Diego county.
Mr Alkhawaja, who holds a valid work permit and has a pending asylum case, spent eight days in an ICE detention centre. He was subsequently placed in removal proceedings and fitted with a GPS ankle monitor, which typically is used for high-risk individuals on parole.
He is required to report to immigration officials on an almost weekly basis, either at the courthouse or through home visits. Mr Alkhawaja, who has a doctorate from the University of San Francisco and owns a local coffee business, stated he had no criminal convictions at the time of his arrest.
ICE has removed over 16,000 people from the San Diego region between January 2025 and April 2026. Arrests across the nation have reportedly increased this summer.