Ward Sakeik, a 22-year-old stateless Palestinian who has lived in North Texas since childhood, was released on 2 July after spending roughly 140 days in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody. She walked free from the Prairieland Detention Center, south of Arlington, and reunited with her husband, Taahir Shaikh, a U.S. citizen. ICE agents arrested Sakeik in February at Miami International Airport while she and Shaikh were returning from their honeymoon in the U.S. Virgin Islands, a U.S. territory that does not ordinarily require a passport. Although Sakeik had a pending green-card petition based on her January marriage, she was transferred among several facilities before landing at Prairieland. Her lawyers say immigration officers tried to deport her twice—in mid-June and again on 30 June—despite a federal court order barring her removal. Both attempts were abandoned at the last minute. Department of Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said Sakeik had overstayed a visa and was subject to a decade-old removal order, adding that she was released after she and her spouse filed "the appropriate legal applications" for permanent residency. Speaking publicly on 3 July, Sakeik said she was handcuffed for up to 16 hours without food or water during transfers and described detention conditions as unhygienic. “I didn’t choose to be stateless,” she told reporters, pledging to campaign for other women still in ICE custody. The case underscores mounting legal and political friction over immigration enforcement in President Donald Trump’s second term, as the administration pursues an expanded deportation agenda while advocacy groups intensify scrutiny of detention practices.