Thread: Syrian Christian family, visas in hand, turned back at airport

Syrian Christian family, visas in hand, turned back at airport

By Sarah Jorgensen, CNN
Updated 9:48 AM ET, Sun January 29, 2017

(CNN)Two 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.



Trump's immigration ban sends shockwaves


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, one of the most persecuted groups 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.



What immigrants need to know about Trump's order

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," said Dent said 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. She also noted that a protest is planned Sunday at Philadelphia International Airport in support of their relatives, along with other immigrants who have been turned back.



Trump immigration order: Families feel the impact

"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."

http://www.cnn.com/2017/01/28/us/syr...ban/index.html

We cannot take any of these refugees until we can know for sure who they are and also really at this point we cannot afford to support them financially either. We have enough poor and unemployed American right now and we need to support them.

There are nice safe sections of Syria. Russia is working on peace plan, new constitution, eventual new elections, humanitarian aid getting in. The "rebels" are being contrary, still attacking, refused to even read the nice secular constitution Russia and Turkey drafted for them to review. They want to write their own, so fine, write it then. Syrians around the world need to focus on fixing their home country, not complaining about ours. The CORRUPT MEDIA needs to show real pictures of Syria as it really is, not the propaganda they showed for years.

Russia will restore order and safety to Syria. They know how to do this, we don't.

As to the family they're reporting on in Philadelphia, this is the epitome of CHAIN MIGRATION which we all want to stop.

We need a 10 to 20 Year Moratorium on All Immigration. And we need it now. Stop all these "hopes" or migrating to the United States or anywhere else for that matter. Fix your countries. According to the news last night, there are 65 million displaced people in the world right now.

Originally Posted by Judy

. . . Russia will restore order and safety to Syria. They know how to do this . . .

Like they did in the Afghan war?

The Soviet-Afghan War: How a Superpower Fought and Lost: Lester W ...
https://www.amazon.com/Soviet-Afghan-War-Superpower...Lost/dp/070061186X
The Soviet-Afghan War: How a Superpower Fought and Lost . . .

The Soviet-Afghan War: How a Superpower Fought and Lost
Paperback
February 5, 2002

by Lester W. Grau

The War in Afghanistan (1979-1989) has been called "the Soviet Union's Vietnam War," a conflict that pitted Soviet regulars against a relentless, elusive, and ultimately unbeatable Afghan guerrilla force (the mujahideen). The hit-and-run bloodletting across the war's decade tallied more than 25,000 dead Soviet soldiers plus a great many more casualties and further

Read more

Russia never took control of Afghanistan. The United States intervened. How did that work out?

Rep. Charlie Dent just does not get it. He has been complaining about President Trump all through the campaign through now. I will add this again on this post - CharlieDent has a "F" grade from NumbersUSA. He does not appear to be working for "America First" but foreigners first ideology.

We cannot bring everybody's relatives into our Country. Their relatives are FREE to leave our Country. Go, get on a plane and go reunite with them off our soil if you miss them so much!

If we allow everyone's relatives here...where does it end?

This Pandora's Box of immigrants needs to be shut down.

And anyone comes in here needs to be made VERY clear...no chain migration...or do not come here.

We need to go even further than that. We need to say universally across the board, do not migrate to the United States. We're broke, busted, we have 94 million of our own people out of work. The average American has less than $1000 in savings. We've got $20 trillion of government debt. There is no money, there are no jobs, there is nothing here for you.

WE MUST HAVE AN IMMEDIATE 10 to 20 YEAR MORATORIUM ON ALL IMMIGRATION ACROSS THE BOARD AND WE MUST HAVE IT NOW.

Anyone who doesn't understand this is a stupid person on the take with the drug cartels and foreign governments behind this disaster.

Russia fought the Afghan war for 10 years and lost.

The War in Afghanistan (1979-1989) has been called "the Soviet Union's Vietnam War," a conflict that pitted Soviet regulars against a relentless, elusive, and ultimately unbeatable Afghan guerrilla force (the mujahideen). The hit-and-run bloodletting across the war's decade tallied more than 25,000 dead Soviet soldiers