‘I feel like a ghost’: new father deported by ICE to Bhutan that exiled his family

Mohan Karki was deported to Bhutan on 13 January, after more than nine months in detention and a series of legal battles led by his wife and his attorneys in a final effort to stop his removal. Composite: Rita Liu/The Guardian/Getty Images/Tika Basnet

Tika Basnet sat facing the glow of her iPhone, a red tika pressed into the center of her forehead. Seven-month-old Briana slept on her lap, her breathing soft and uneven. On the other side of the screen was Mohan Karki, Basnet’s husband, who had yet to hold his daughter.

For Karki, nearly 9,000 miles (14,500km) away, it was already morning. He was in hiding in south Asia, his exact location withheld for his safety, his face breaking into pixels as he watched his daughter sleep.