ishtartv.com - edition.cnn.com
By Sarah Jorgensen, January
30, 201
wo
brothers, their wives and children left war-torn Syria with 16 suitcases and
crossed the border into Lebanon. They were finally on their way to the United
States after working for almost 15 years to join their family members
stateside.
But
after a flight from Beirut to Doha, Qatar, and then to Philadelphia on
Saturday, the two families were told to get on a flight back to Doha. It was
because President Donald Trump had just signed an executive order
denying citizens from seven countries, including Syria, entry into the United
States.
Sarmad
Assali and her daughter, Sarah, are among the relatives who were waiting to
welcome the families to the United States. Sarmad Assali said they received a
call from authorities Saturday morning telling them their relatives would not
be allowed to enter the country.
The
Assalis, US citizens who live in Allentown, Pennsylvania, weren't able to make
contact with their family members until they were already headed back overseas.
One of the brothers told Sarmad Assali they were not allowed to make calls or
use the Internet while they were held.
According
to the Assalis, their family members do not speak English very well and were
told by authorities they could either be detained and have their visas taken
away, or they could take the first flight back to Doha.
Frightened
and facing a language barrier, the six family members chose the second option.
Sarmad Assali told CNN she wished she had been able to speak with them, since
she would have told them to stay until she could arrive with her attorney.
A
long immigration journey
The
Assalis are Orthodox Christians, a group that has faced extreme persecution in
Syria.
Their
relatives, whom Sarmad and Sarah Assali did not want to identify for their
protection, began their immigration process in 2003. In late 2015 they were
finally approved to enter the United States on an F-4 visa for brothers and
sisters of US citizens.
The
relatives finalized their paperwork, immigration interviews and medical
examinations during a 10-day trip to Jordan in late December last year.
The
Assalis have helped bring family members to the United States before. In 2013,
they were able to bring in one relative, and last month they were able to bring
the brothers' sister and her daughter.
The
brothers waited to join them until after they could pack up their homes in Syria,
Sarmad Assali said.
"We
bought them a house, we furnished it for them, to help them start a new
life," she told CNN.
But
that plan is now on hold until the family can figure out a legal route forward.
They have been in touch with their congressman, Republican Charlie Dent, as
well as attorneys to figure out a plan.
Dent
took a very vocal stance Sunday on behalf of the Assali family.
"I
certainly agree that we can always improve our visa vetting and refugee vetting
program, and I don't have any question about that," Dent said on CNN's
"New Day Weekend."
"But
I think it's wrong in the case that I was dealing with, with the family already
in flight when the order was issued, and having no idea at the time of arrival
they would be turned around."
Mayor
'sickened' by situation
Their
attorney, Jonathan Grode, has an emergency conference Sunday with other
attorneys about the new regulations, Sarmad Assali said.
"It
makes me so sad that this great country is doing this to our Christians and to
these people and to my family," Sarmad said.
Philadelphia
Mayor Jim Kenney released a statement about the two families' plight.
"I
am sickened by reports that federal officials, without knowledge or cooperation
of PHL Airport staff, detained and then turned away two Syrian families,"
Kenney said in the statement.
"By
several accounts, these families waited months to obtain the proper
documentation so they could come to our country legally. And still, they were
sent back to a war-torn nation that has used chemical warfare against its own
people. The Trump administration very well may have just given these families a
death sentence."
Said
Sarah Assali, "We're all feeling a lot of anger, a lot of disappointment
in our government. ... It's against our ethics as Americans."
At a
protest in front of Philadelphia International Airport's international arrivals
terminal Sunday surrounded by a massive crowd of chanting supporters waving
pro-immigrant signs, Tawfik Assali, the son of two of the people turned away
and nephew of Sarmad and cousin to Sarah, told CNN he had been very excited to
see his parents.
"I
was, like, one hour-and-a-half away from them," he said. "I haven't
seen them for three years, so, it was really hard for me to not hug them, to
not be with them."
While
attorneys are still working on the case, he and Sarah both said they were
encouraged and felt support from the large crowd that turned out Sunday and the
other people who had reached out to help the family. Sarah also said that her
family will begin a GoFundMe page to support her family members' travel
expenses and legal fees.
"Thank
you to everyone," Sarah told CNN. "We didn't expect this, we never
thought we'd be in the position we're in now. So I'm very thankful. This is the
America that we do know, and that we do love. And I'm just grateful."
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