CHESHIRE, CT (WFSB) - A 19-year-old high school senior was arrested by ICE agents this week and is being held at an immigration detention center in Massachusetts, the same facility where his father was detained for four months last year.Rihan, a student at Cheshire High School, was arrested Monday outside his home and taken to the immigration detention facility in Plymouth, Massachusetts. He and his family moved to Cheshire from Afghanistan a year and a half ago under humanitarian parole, a temporary immigration status.His father, Zia, served as an interpreter for the U.S. military. Last summer, he was arrested by ICE agents and detained for four months before being released.The family’s immigration status under humanitarian parole does not expire until October. State and local leaders gathered outside the state Capitol to call Rihan’s arrest unlawful, saying the family is here legally.“A young man, a high school senior, my daughter’s classmate, a strong student and by all accounts a kind member of our community was detained unlawfully earlier this week,” said state Rep. Liz Linehan, who represents Cheshire.Sen. Richard Blumenthal said Zia was detained illegally and that ICE is now detaining his son.“Rihan is ICE’s latest victim in that family,” Blumenthal said. “What ICE is doing here is beyond cruelty. It’s beyond brutality. It’s un-American.”Rihan is set to graduate in June as a straight-A student. He wants to be a cardiologist, according to Gov. Ned Lamont.“He loves science. He wants to be a cardiologist. That means you’re smart and have a big heart. Now he’s been detained, taken to Massachusetts,” Lamont said.Lauren Petersen, the family’s immigration attorney, filed a petition in federal court for Rihan’s immediate release. She said the family is actively seeking permanent residency and their green card status is still pending.“Having his father detained for four months last summer, losing his father and breadwinner, terrified he would be deported and the family would be too. And now Rihan is living the very same experience as his father, sitting in the same detention center,” Petersen said.Attorney General William Tong called on ICE to release Rihan.“We implore ICE, think of your own children and send Rihan home to Cheshire,” Tong said. “How does this vindicate the law, our nation’s immigration laws? How does this make us more safe as a state, as a people, as a country? It doesn’t.”Community members expressed concern about the arrest. Lee Earley, a longtime Cheshire resident, said she found the situation troubling.“I find it really sad and pretty pathetic. There’s got to be a better way to do this,” Earley said. “I understand there are bad people here from different countries, all of that, but rounding up innocents and taking them away I don’t think is the answer.”ICE did not respond to a request for comment.Cheshire’s delegation of lawmakers provided a statement in which they said their community was “shaken” by the news.Copyright 2026 WFSB. All rights reserved.