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Asylum-seeking Afghan soldiers due before judge

Afghanistan National Army soldiers stand guard at a gate of Camp Qargha, west of Kabul, Afghanistan, Tuesday, Aug. 5, 2014.
Afghanistan National Army soldiers stand guard at a gate of Camp Qargha, west of Kabul, Afghanistan, Tuesday, Aug. 5, 2014. AP Photo/Massoud Hossaini

BATAVIA, N.Y. – Three Afghan military officers who left a Massachusetts training exercise to seek asylum in Canada are scheduled to appear today before a U.S. immigration judge to face removal proceedings.

The three are scheduled to appear in court inside the federal detention facility near Buffalo, N.Y. where they have been held since Sept. 23.

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They are charged with administrative immigration violations and face deportation after taking a cab to New York and walking into Canada across the Rainbow Bridge in Niagara Falls.

The military officers say they were trying to avoid returning to Afghanistan because of death threats from the Taliban for fighting alongside American troops.

They also now worry about reprisals from their own government.

U.S. authorities have said they don’t believe the men posed any danger to the public.

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