A Family Of Six Syrian Christians Was Turned Away After Trump's Ban
A Family Of Six Syrian Christians Was Turned Away After Trump's Ban
Trump's executive order, which outright barred people from six countries from entering the United States, has affected hundreds of people since it was signed into action this weekend. Here's just one of their stories.
Trump's executive order, which outright barred people from six countries from entering the United States, has affected hundreds of people since it was signed into action this weekend. Here's just one of their stories.
After a fifteen-year process, a family of six Syrian Christians attempting to enter the United States came to a shocking halt in the Philadelphia airport on Saturday after Donald Trump signed an executive order barring any Syrians from entering the United States. The family, which already had visas paid for, a house waiting for them, and two relatives at the airport waiting for them to arrive, was forced onto an 18-hour flight to Qatar after customs could not let them through. The relatives waiting for them, Sarmad and Sarah Assali, were not informed of their return to Qatar until they were already on the plane.
Sarah and Sarmad Assali
The Assalis could not name their relatives because Syrian Orthodox Christians are a persecuted religious group in the area to which the family has now been forcibly returned. Sarah Assali spoke about the confusing incident saying:
The green cards have been paid for, the visas have been paid for, everything has been approved. To suddenly be told, "no, you no longer qualify to enter the country," it kind of comes as a slap in the face.
Sarah Assali
Daily Mail, January 29, 2017
The Assalis even hoped that because their family began the application process fifteen years ago, before war broke out in Syria, that their lack of refugee status would help ease entry into the country. The addition of Donald Trump's promise that Syrian Christians would be given priority when applying for refugee status also seemed to improve chances, but they were turned away just the same. Public disapproval has been vocal among many Americans, including Philadelphia mayor Jim Kenney.
Banning immigrants and refugees is not only unjustifiably cruel, it also puts Americans at home and serving abroad at great risk. The Trump administration very well may have just given these families a death sentence.
Jim Kenney
Daily Mail, January 29, 2017
But now, what we want to know is...
Do you approve of Trump's immigration ban?
Do you approve of Trump's immigration ban?