ProPublica puts a heartbreaking, human face on this weekend’s immigration ban with the story of Dr. Suha Abushamma. The 26-year-old is in her first year of an Internal Medicine residency program at the prestigious Cleveland Clinic and she had been visiting family in Saudi Arabia this week. When she heard rumblings of Donald Trump’s Muslim immigrant ban, she rushed to return to the United States. Although Saudi Arabia is not on Trump’s list of seven banned countries, Abushamma’s passport is from Sudan, which is.
Abushamma landed in New York at 11 a.m. on Saturday, where she was directed into a holding area. ProPublica writes:
[Abushamma] said she knew she was in trouble when a representative for Saudi Airlines approached her and told her she would have to book a flight home. Then an officer, whose name she wrote down as T. Lam, told her her choices: ”Either to withdraw my visa … so it wouldn’t leave a negative mark on my profile … or the second option was to refuse to withdraw” and be banned from the U.S. for five years. “I told them at that point I already had lawyers working on my case. I just need a few more hours … They absolutely refused. I even talked to the supervisor.”
According to FlightAware, a flight tracking website, the plane pushed back from the gate at 8:29 p.m. and took off at 8:53 p.m. The earliest reports of the judge’s stay of deportations under the executive order came at around 9 p.m.
ProPublica quotes Abushamma as saying, “I’m happy for the people that are held. I met a really bright young female from Iran who’s studying at NYU. Her flight was at 11. I’m happy for her that she at least gets to go in. I’m frustrated, but it’s the way it is.” Although Abushamma is trying to get a waiver for the 90-day ban, immigration lawyer David Leopold notes, “She’s not going to be able to get a visa for at least 90 days. She’s already been removed, so I think it’s over. This is heartbreaking.”
You can read the full story on ProPublica.
