Detained Palestinian mother and children released from U.S. immigration
detention center
The Associated Press
Friday, February 2, 2007
DALLAS
A Palestinian woman and four of her children were released Saturday morning
from the Texas immigration detention center where they had been held for
three months.
Immigration officers arrested Salaheddin Ibrahim, his wife, Hanan, and four
of their children in November at their Richardson, Texas, home more than two
years after their petition for asylum was denied.
Hanan Ibrahim, 34, who is five months pregnant, has been incarcerated since
then at the T. Don Hutto Detention Center in Taylor, near Austin, Texas.
Four of her children, Hamzeh Ibrahim, 15; Rodaina, 14; Maryam, 8; and Faten,
5, also were detained at the same center.
Meanwhile, her husband, 37, was being held at the Rolling Plains Regional
Jail in Haskell, near Abilene, Texas. Attorneys for the family expect him to
be released soon also.
Escalating violence in their homeland swayed a federal immigration panel
Friday to reconsider the family's asylum request, nullifying the order for
removal from the U.S.
"Cleary the public glare of how horrible it is for children being detained
and the family being split up caused this," Theodore Cox, one of the
family's attorney, said of the decision.
On Saturday, a black limousine carried the Ibrahims' youngest child,
3-year-old Zahra, and her uncle, Ahmad Ibrahim, to pick up Hanan Ibrahim and
the four children. Real estate developer Ralph Isenberg, who has become an
advocate for the family, set up the limo trip.
"I can't imagine children in jail. Quite frankly, it's just not acceptable,"
said Isenberg, whose Chinese-born wife was held for a time at an immigration
detention center. "What type of message do we send to the rest of the world
community when we lock up kids and throw away the key?"
Before Friday's order, lawyers for the Ibrahims pointed out the family was
willing to leave the United States but had nowhere to go. Travel documents
issued to the family by the Jordanian government expired and the country
refused to accept them. Other countries were not willing to take them or
issue them travel documents.
"They cannot get on an airplane. They can't just issue themselves travel
documents," said Joshua Bardavid, one the family's attorneys.
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International Herald Tribune]
2007 The International Herald Tribune | www.iht.com
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