The family of an Arlington man detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement last fall is once again pleading for his release – this time to attend his son’s funeral.
Maher Tarabishi has been in ICE custody since late October and remains at the Blubonnet Detention Facility in Anson, about 200 miles west of Dallas.
HIs son, 30-year-old Wael Tarabishi, died over the weekend after a month in the ICU at Mansfield Medical Center from complications related to Pompe disease, a rare genetic condition. He had been hospitalized in December for a stomach infection.
According to a news release sent to KERA from the Tarabishi family, Wael became unconscious after his second surgery.
“He passed without his beloved father, primary caregiver and constant life companion, Maher by his side,” read a statement by Tarabishi family on social media.
Maher Tarabishi was detained after his annual check-in at the Dallas ICE Field office on Oct 28. He came to the U.S. from Jordan in1994.
His family is now asking for Maher’s humanitarian release so he can attend his son’s funeral.
Tarabishi’s daughter-in-law, Shahd Arnaout has asked via social media for a call to action for people to reach out to elected officials, to help Maher attend his son’s funeral.
“I feel like this is all on ICE, because if my father-in-law was next to him right now, none of that would happen,” Arnaout told KERA last month.
A statement from the Tarabishi family on social media said they recently found out Maher’s asylum case had been denied because the attorney that filed his original asylum case had been fraudulently practicing law without a license.
It was uncovered during a thorough review of the case following the start of Tarabishi’s current ICE detention, read the statement. The family’s attorney Ali Elhorr filed a motion with the U.S. Board of Immigration Appeals to reopen the case.
“Like the other victims of this fraudulent attorney, Maher’s immigration case was denied and he was ordered removed based on the asylum application that was filed on his behalf,” the statement read.
In a statement last month, an ICE representative alleged Tarabishi was a “self-admitted member of the Palestine Liberation Organization,” the internationally recognized representative of Palestinians.
The family has called ICE’s allegations “untrue, defamatory claims” to keep Maher from his son during the last moments of his life.
Priscilla Rice is KERA’s communities reporter. Got a tip? Email her at price@kera.org.
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