The Trump administration's immigration agenda has included efforts to cut back on both illegal and legal pathways into the country.

Yesterday, the president set the lowest ever cap on refugee entries, 7,500 per year.

And at the same time, more than 2.2 million migrants are awaiting asylum hearings here in the United States.

Amna Nawaz sat down with the family member of one asylum seeker caught up in these immigration restrictions.

Officials carrying out President Trump's immigration crackdown have detained and deported thousands of undocumented people with criminal records.

But many with no criminal history who were following legal pathways to remain are also being detained. One of them is 31-year-old

Ali Sajad Fakirzada from Afghanistan, who crossed the U.S. southern border in 2022 without authorization

to make an asylum claim, which he and his family did, turning themselves

into Border Patrol. As their asylum cases moved through the courts, Ali went to a routine

immigration check-in earlier this month and was detained by ICE. For Moran's case, we're joined now

by his sister, Saida Fakirzada, and their family lawyer, Anne-W Anne Juan Hughes. Welcome to you both and thank you for joining us.

And Saida, I'll just begin with you because you and other members of your family

have been through this asylum process.

What did you expect to happen the day that Ali went in for this routine check-in?

We were expecting the process to be the same as the rest of the family member who already received their asylum.

For him as well to be a smooth process, and actually it was.

So he went in for his interview and he actually answered all the questions that he was asked.

And he was texting me and said, yes, Sayda, I passed the interview and I'm so happy.

Then he also, like, immediately texted me saying that they are taking me.

And was that the last time you heard from him?

Yes, when they detained him, yes.

So, Anwen, let me turn to you here, because I do want to put to you what the Department of Homeland Security said in response to our request for more information about the case. They sent us a statement confirming that Ali did enter the U.S. in February of 2022. And they also said, back then, he was arrested by border patrol, released by the Biden administration, into the country.

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