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In the NoCo

An Afghan man found refuge in Colorado after helping the U.S. fight the Taliban. Now he’s been detained by ICE

Mohammad Ali Dadfar, 37, worked for the Afghan Army in opposition to the Taliban.
Photo provided by family / Courtesy of the Colorado Sun
Mohammad Ali Dadfar, 37, worked for the Afghan Army in opposition to the Taliban.

Several years ago, an Afghan man who helped the U.S. military fight the Taliban fled Afghanistan with his family and resettled in Colorado.

Mohammad Ali Dadfar had escaped with his wife and their four children after U.S. forces withdrew from Afghanistan in 2021. The Dadfar family made their way to the U.S. and resettled in Boulder County, with help from a group of residents who support Afghanis who are threatened by the Taliban.

Since settling in Colorado, Dadfar began working as a licensed, long-haul truck driver.
Dadfar was driving through Indiana on Oct. 10 when he was stopped and taken into custody by masked Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents at a truck stop. ICE has not charged him with a crime – yet he's been held in an ICE detention center in Missouri for a month now.

Colorado Sun reporter Jennifer Brown wrote about Dadfar's case, and what it reveals about how ICE operates. She joined Erin O'Toole to talk about what happened and how it’s affected his family in Boulder County.

KUNC's In The NoCo is a daily slice of stories, news, people and issues. It's a window to the communities along the Colorado Rocky Mountains. The show brings context and insight to the stories of the day, often elevating unheard voices in the process. And because life in Northern Colorado is a balance of work and play, we celebrate the lighter side of things here, too.
As the host of KUNC’s news program and podcast In The NoCo, I work closely with our producers and reporters to bring context and diverse perspectives to the important issues of the day. Northern Colorado is such a diverse and growing region, brimming with history, culture, music, education, civic engagement, and amazing outdoor recreation. I love finding the stories and voices that reflect what makes NoCo such an extraordinary place to live.
Brad Turner is an executive producer in KUNC's newsroom. He manages the podcast team that makes In The NoCo, which also airs weekdays in Morning Edition and All Things Considered. His work as a podcaster and journalist has appeared on NPR's Weekend Edition, NPR Music, the PBS Newshour, Colorado Public Radio, MTV Online, the Denver Post, Boulder's Daily Camera, and the Longmont Times-Call.