A former U.S. ally and Afghan evacuee says he, his wife, and their five children are potentially facing execution after the Biden administration rejected for the final time his application for a special immigrant visa, meaning the man who bravely served as an interpreter for American troops and his family may soon be facing deportation.
If returned to the Taliban-controlled country, Zainullah “Zak” Zaki says he and his family will certainly be put to death.
(Video: Fox News)
“The enemy is in control,” he said on “Fox & Friends First” Wednesday, “and they’re going to be killing us.”
When asked what deportation would mean for him and his family, Zaki answered, “The loss of my whole family and my life.”
U.S. Marine Tom Schueman credits Zaki with saving his life more than once on the battlefield. After the Taliban swept in and regained control of the war-torn nation last year, Schueman returned the favor, helping the translator get his family to the safety of the United States.
“I was hopeless…” Zaki said. “I hadn’t seen a situation like that before in my whole life.”
Schueman joined Zaki on Fox News to plead his desperate friend’s case.
“He provided the ability to access the communities, the neighborhoods and villages there,” the Marine said. “To be able to read the cultural terrain there was really important and to understand the nuances of who might be [affiliated with] the Taliban and who might not be…”
“And then there’s the literal sense of him saving our lives in the sense that he would monitor the Taliban radio, and he heard them coordinating an ambush,” Schueman continued. “He sprinted through a minefield as he listened to this ambush being coordinated and actually tackled the Taliban commander before they were able to initiate the ambush.”
Zaki claims he lacks documentation for two years’ worth of work he provided to U.S. forces, causing the Biden administration to deny his request for a special immigrant visa.
“The work that I did with the U.S. Marines, I have that as provided, but it was not a sufficient time period,” Zaki explained to co-host Carley Shimkus. “It was for nine months.”
It’s a gut-wrenching predicament for an ally of American troops to find himself in, given the number of nameless, paperless illegal immigrants the Biden administration is allowing to flow unchecked across our southern border with Mexico.
In a separate interview, Schueman, who co-authored “Always Faithful” with Zaki, a book detailing the bond the two formed in Afghanistan and Schueman’s work to get Zaki and his family out of Kabul, told Fox News Digital, “I am deeply disappointed and sad for my friend that he’s still going through this crap.”
(Video: Fox News Digital)
After finally making it to the States, Zaki and his family settled into life in San Antonio, Texas, as they waited for Secretary of State Antony Blinken to make good on his promise to make his case a priority.
“He loves San Antonio,” the Marine said.
Zaki took a job working seven days a week hanging drywall at a cancer hospital for minimum wage. His wife has since given birth to a new son.
“His kids are under the belief that they’re growing up as Americans,” Schueman said. “That their father made sacrifices, that they’ve earned a right to be here.”
“It’s a real injustice for a guy who nearly died for this country multiple times,” he said. “A guy who saved American Marines’ lives.”
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Melissa Fine is the former executive editor of Casino Player, Strictly Slots, and Poker
Digest magazines. She is a UCLA graduate, news junkie, and dedicated Stargate SG-
1 fan. Melissa currently lives with her dog and two cats in a tiny town in the Sierra
Nevada foothills.
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