USA13 May, 20263 min read
Judge David Briones Orders Release Of Afghan Suspected Terrorist Ahmadzai Abdul Ghafoor
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DHS released a misleading press release about a Rhode Island judge freeing an illegal alien. The Rhode Island judge demanded DHS remove the press release.
Ghafoor freed by judge
A federal judge ordered the release of Afghan national Ahmadzai Abdul Ghafoor after Department of Justice attorneys failed to provide the current status of a national security investigation against him.
The U.S. government had once designated Ghafoor a "known suspected terrorist" and flagged him for "high-profile removal," and he had been held in immigration custody since May 2025.
Ghafoor, who represented himself and said he fled in 2021 fearing Taliban retaliation, was kept detained in a facility in El Paso, Texas, past the statutory deadlines for deportation.
On April 16, 2025, he filed a petition for habeas corpus citing seemingly indefinite detention, and on July 9, 2025, an immigration judge entered a final order of removal that would have allowed ICE agents to deport him.
After a hearing, Senior U.S. District Judge David Briones of the Western District of Texas ordered the Justice Department on April 28 to explain why Ghafoor was designated as a suspected terrorist and whether the investigation was still ongoing.
DuBose, DHS press war
In Rhode Island, DHS General Counsel James Percival renewed criticism of U.S. District Judge Melissa DuBose after a courtroom clash over the temporary release of Dominican national Bryan Rafael Gomez.
Percival wrote, "The court had no authority to release this criminal illegal alien," arguing the fallout was "entirely of Judge DuBose’s own making," after an April 28 decision ordered Gomez released from Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody.
The dispute centered on an April 16 ICE press release announcing the arrest of "5 foreign fugitives wanted for murder," including Gomez, while DuBose said she did not see the press release prior to ordering Gomez’s release.
CNN reported that DuBose said the situation was "egregious enough" to warrant disciplinary proceedings against Kevin Bolan, after Bolan acknowledged DuBose likely would not have ordered Gomez’s release had the homicide warrant disclosure been made.
Lawfare described the DHS press release as still appearing on the department’s website and quoted DuBose at a hearing on May 4 saying the misleading rhetoric "puts people at risk" and is "dangerous" and "is a threat to judicial security."
Special counsel and fallout
CNN said the Rhode Island court named a special counsel last week to investigate a senior Justice Department attorney’s alleged misconduct in an immigration case, as judges elsewhere in the U.S. have been stymied by appeals and stonewalling.
“It’s really all about accountability. The judges are going to try their darndest to hold everyone involved in these cases accountable.”
Former federal Judge William Smith told CNN that "It’s really all about accountability. The judges are going to try their darndest to hold everyone involved in these cases accountable," and said the first line of accountability is the lawyers.
CNN also reported that Benjamin Grimes said the situation reflects a broader pattern of government lawyers playing fast and loose with professional rules that undermines public confidence in the legal system.
In the Ghafoor case, the Justice Department replied on May 11 that it was "not available to disclose" whether he was still designated as a suspected terrorist and was "not privy to the status of the investigation," while the Joint Terrorism Task Force had not been advised of any action.
The same Rhode Island episode that produced the special counsel appointment also involved DuBose’s finding that the "candor and the lack of candor to this court" had to be investigated so "we don’t have anything like this happen again," according to CNN’s account of her remarks in court.