Ihsanullah Garay, a 38-year-old Afghan national and doctoral student with stage II brain cancer, was detained by ICE on September 14 in Methuen after being stopped while delivering food. At the time of his detention, Garay was undergoing radiation therapy at Boston Medical Center in Boston for his cancer treatment. Though his student visa expired in 2021, he has legal work authorization through 2029, maintains no criminal record, and has applied for political asylum citing Taliban threats. His lawyer stated he has an exceptionally strong asylum claim and has done everything correctly. ICE subsequently transferred Garay to a detention facility in Georgia, hundreds of miles from his medical care team, preventing him from attending critical appointments. His bond hearing scheduled for October 16 in Chelmsford immigration court was canceled. According to his lawyer, Garay's health has deteriorated significantly in custody—he now requires a wheelchair and experiences daily seizures.