Ohio woman claims her Muslim husband was fed nothing but pork sandwiches for six days by Border Patrol after he was detained despite having a work permit
An Ohio woman has claimed US Border Patrol detained her Muslim husband and fed him nothing but pork sandwiches for a week - even though he had a valid work permit.
Jennifer Asif claims her husband Adnan Asif Parveen, who is a dual Pakistani-Spanish citizen, was told to 'eat pork sandwiches or nothing' as he was kept in a crowded detention center in Texas.
Since making her allegations public, Mrs Asif has been told her husband - who is still being detained and threatened with deportation - has had his green card application rejected by US authorities.
Jennifer Asif claims her Pakistani-Spanish husband Adnan Asif Parveen, was told 'eat pork sandwiches or nothing' as he was kept in a crowded detention centre in Texas
The couple met via a dating app in 2014, when Mr Asif Parveen was visiting family members in New York.
Mr Asif Parveen applied for a green card after marrying his wife in 2016, and had been awarded a work permit while the application was pending.
The couple live in Columbus, Ohio, but earlier this year, Mr Asif Parveen's work as a semi-truck driver had taken him to south Texas where he was stopped at a border patrol checkpoint on January 11.
Due to a delay in receiving a paper copy proving that he had a valid work permit, he was only able to show one which expired in August, leading to his arrest and detention.
Sharing details of his ordeal on a GoFundMe page, Mrs Asif writes that he 'slept on the floor with a foil blanket in a refrigerated room and offered only one sandwich every eight hours'.
Days after going public with her claims about her husband's treatment by Border Patrol, she received a letter saying Mr Asif Parveen's green card application had been denied
Mr Asif Parveen is now being held at the Port Isabel Detention Center in Texas
She claims that when he explained to Border Patrol officers that as a Muslim, it is against his religion to eat pork, they told him 'eat that or nothing'.
Mrs Asif says her husband resolved to pick off the meat and lived off nothing but bread for the six days in detention.
He has since been moved to Port Isabel Detention Centre in South Texas, awaiting his fate.
The couple's predicament was the subject of an article in the Huffington Post last month - at which point Mr Asif Parveen's green card application was still pending.
However, just days after the article was published, Mrs Asif received a letter informing her that U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) had denied her husband's application.
The couple met via a dating app in 2014, and Mr Asif Parveen applied for a green card when they married in 2016 - but only got a response a few days ago
According to the Huffington Post, USCIS cited the ICE's detention order, adding that there were 'significant adverse factors that show discretion should not be exercised in your favour.'
Mrs Asif says her husband was their main source of income and due to her travelling to Texas to visit him, she lost her part-time job.
'I am trying to keep things afloat, but I am facing eviction and can't afford any more for the lawyers needed to get him out.
'If if he doesn't get a bond soon or gets deported I will lose my home and my husband,' she writes, adding 'this has been the worst month in my whole life and in Dani's.'
USCIS declined to comment on Mr Asif Parveen's case when approached by the Huffington Post, citing privacy concerns.
