CT family that fought deportation celebrates permanent residency in the United States: ‘Life is beautiful’
Every year for more than five years, Anwar Mahmud has gone online to check his and his wife’s immigration statuses. After more than two decades of living in the United States, their fates and futures were always uncertain.
In August. 2018, Mahmud faced the unthinkable: Saying goodbye to his wife of more than 20 years. Salma Sikandar, now 54, was facing deportation to Bangladesh, leading Mahmud to sit for a hunger strike as more than 50,000 signed a petition against her being deported.
Together with their son Samir, the couple packed Sikandar’s bags and were bracing for a heartbreaking departure when she was granted a stay in the nick of time. In the five years since, the couple has either been in and out of courtrooms or simply waiting for their immigration status to be finalized.
Last weekend, it finally was.
On Oct. 7, the couple opened an envelope that was delivered to their Manchester home and for the first time held their green cards, making their residence in the United States permanent.
“As a family, we are still together that is the main and important thing,” said Mahmud this week, calling the end of their long fight a “very big relief.”
Mahmud and Sikandar — who have been married for 24 years — have been in the United States for more than two decades. They met in New York while Mahmud was living on Staten Island and Sikandar was visiting Queens. They married shortly after. Mahmud said he knew right away that Sikandar was his soulmate.
“I knew she was the one,” he said. “It moved very quickly and that’s it, we were together. We are still together and for the rest of our lives we are going to be together.”
The couple raised their son Samir Mahmud in Connecticut, and Sikandar was facing deportation just four days before he began his freshman year at Quinnipiac University, darkening an otherwise proud day for the family.
Officials Urge ICE To Give New Haven Mother Reprieve From Deportation
Their son has a since graduated from Quinnipiac and is working as a data manager and plans to attend graduate school. The family has moved from New Haven to Manchester, Mahmud said, and are so happy to be together.
“We cannot live without each other. We are three people who have always lived together,” the father said. “That’s the most important part. It is good, everything is beautiful now.”
Sikandar came to the United States illegally about 24 years ago. According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, she overstayed her visa by more than 18 years and was ordered by an immigration judge to leave the country in 2016.
At an annual check-in in June 2018, Sikandar was told by ICE to buy a one-way ticket to Bangladesh and was fitted with an ankle monitor.
She said she filed multiple appeals to the Board of Immigration Appeals and the Second Circuit Court of Appeals but they were dismissed.
In August of 2018, the family was fearful that Sikandar would have to board that flight back to Bangladesh until she was granted a last-minute stay of removal by federal authorities. But it wasn’t until the end of 2022 that they were able to apply for their green cards, said Mahmud.
Along the way, Mahmud said, they never felt alone in their fight. Since the moment they shared their story, said Mahmud, they have felt the support of their community and from people far and wide.
“We had no family members here and all of a sudden we had a big family,” he said. “This is an incredible feeling we can’t even put into words sometimes. When you don’t know anyone, even though you’ve been in this country for 30 years, and then all of a sudden you know so many people who are with you and they are fighting with you.”
Dozens of supporters gathered for a rally in support of Sikandar outside the Hartford ICE Office in 2018.
Then-Gov. Dannel P. Malloy, then-state representative, now Attorney General William Tong, U.S. Rep. Rosa DeLauro and U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal all spoke out in support of Sikandar and her family.
Mahmud said he will never forget the feeling, and showing, of support.
Ahead of what they thought was his wife’s eminent deportation in 2018, Mahmud sat for a hunger strike until she was granted her stay. During that time, he remembers a meaningful moment when a mother brought her two children to visit him.
“She was teaching her kids how people fight for their rights,” he said. “People who never met us heard our story and came to support us and pray for us.”
He said the family has so much gratitude for everyone who signed the petition against the deportation, everyone who shared their story and for all the elected officials who supported them over the past five years.
“Thank you to each and every one. They’ll always be special place in our hearts,” he said Sunday.
Mahmud, who turns 60 in December, said this year will be his happiest birthday yet knowing that his family will never be apart.
Their family has never left the country since they arrived in the United States and are excited to now be able to travel internationally, an experience their son wants to share with them. They are looking forward to planning a family vacation to Canada or London, Mahmud said.
While they are excited that their long fight is over, Mahmud said he hopes no other family has to experience what they have, and urges those in the midst of a similar fight to stay strong and hopeful.
“I wish them good luck don’t lose hope, just keep hoping,” said Mahmud.