'Pillar of the community' deported from US after 39 years to a land he barely knows

[tennisluvr]

Amman, Jordan (CNN)With nothing but the clothes on his back and less than $300 in his pocket, Amer Adi was put on a plane and deported to Jordan, the country he left 39 years ago to pursue his American dream. 

His 94-year-old mother sat in a wheelchair at the arrivals gate, overcome with emotion as she waited for Adi. She hadn't seen him in 20 years. 

As he walked out, his siblings, nephews and nieces broke out in cheers. But they were soon in tears.

Adi fell to his knees, a broken man in his mother's arms. 

 

 

"I have mixed feelings, very mixed feelings. I'm so happy, so glad to be here, my home, to see my mother, my brother, my family, my friends, that makes me proud and happy," Adi told CNN at the airport. 

 

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<img alt="Amer Adi falls to his knees as he reunites with his mother for the first time in 20 years." class="media__image" src="//cdn.cnn.com/cnnnext/dam/assets/180208122950-palestinian-deportee-6-large-169.jpg">

Amer Adi falls to his knees as he reunites with his mother for the first time in 20 years.

"At the same time, I feel so sad of what happened to me. I'm so to tell you what happened is unjust, not right, and everyone back there knows that. What the Trump administration is doing is -- you can't even explain it," said Adi.

Adi lived in America for nearly 40 years. He has a wife who is a US citizen, and four daughters who are also US citizens. He owns several businesses in his adopted hometown of Youngstown, Ohio. A week ago, he was deported. 

For more than 20 years, his life has been a legal battle. But with the help of an Ohio congressman, he was able to remain in the US. That all changed when US President Donald Trump took office last year and doubled down on immigration.  

Since he entered office, Trump has called for a sweeping overhaul of the immigration system, and has empowered federal authorities to ramp up arrests and deportations of undocumented immigrants

Immigration arrests have increased by 42% since Trump took office, according to the Department of Homeland Security's Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

The legal battle

In the 1980s, Adi held a green card. But he lost his permanent resident status in the early 1990s, after moving to Brazil for three years with his wife. When he returned, Adi tried to apply for a new card, but was rejected.

Immigration officials accused him of having a sham marriage with his American ex-wife.

 His ex-wife had signed a statement alleging marriage fraud. According to Adi, his lawyer and multiple media interviews with Adi's ex-wife, she was coerced into making the statement after immigration officials showed up at her door.

In 2007, she signed an affidavit retracting her statement and denying the marriage was fraudulent.

Despite the affidavit, he was unable to gain legal status. In 2009, he was issued with a deportation order.                                                                                                                              

A 'pillar' of the community

Ohio Congressman Tim Ryan describes Adi as a "pillar" of their community, who creates jobs with his multiple businesses and distributes hundreds of turkeys to the poor on Thanksgiving.

For years, the House Democrat has been fighting for Adi to remain in America and it was his efforts that secured consecutive stays of the deportation order.

"If you would see the breadth of support that this gentleman has, from whether it's his Italian-Irish Catholic congressman or an African-American Pentecostal Republican woman who is supporting him or the working-class people I saw in his shop the day they thought he was going to get deported ... to show support for him," Ryan told CNN in an interview.

Among Adi's businesses are a hooka bar, a convenience store and a deli. 

"He has a Jewish attorney whose father survived the Holocaust ... this person has brought this community together in Youngstown, Ohio," Ryan added.

 

<img alt="A family photo of Amer Adi with his wife and daughters. " class="media__image" src="//cdn.cnn.com/cnnnext/dam/assets/180208121330-palestinian-deportee-5-large-169.jpg">

A family photo of Amer Adi with his wife and daughters.

While Adi's deportation order was issued in 2009, ICE did not proceed with the deportation. He was, instead, required to routinely check in with the agency, which he was diligent about, according to his lawyer David Leopold. In 2013, Ryan presented a private bill -- legislation specific to a person and not affecting overall policy -- to Congress, which would get him a more thorough review of his case. He has presented the bill several times since then.

Having the private bill in motion meant Adi was granted a two-year stay. Under Trump, though, ICE reduced the deportation stay to six months, according to Ryan.

Last September, an ICE field office put an ankle bracelet with a GPS monitor on Adi. He was then told to make arrangements to leave the US, according to his lawyer. 

In a statement to CNN, ICE said that he would be allowed to return only if the bill is finally passed.

 

<img alt="Ohio Congressman Tim Ryan had been trying to prevent Adi's deportation " class="media__image" src="//cdn.cnn.com/cnnnext/dam/assets/180207081443-palestinian-deportee-3-large-169.jpg">

Ohio Congressman Tim Ryan had been trying to prevent Adi's deportation

"While ICE acknowledges Congress's authority to pass legislation providing immigration benefits to non-citizens, alien beneficiaries need not be present in the United States for a private immigration relief bill to be introduced, considered and/or enacted.  An alien who is granted relief through the enactment of a private immigration bill can lawfully travel back to the United States," the statement read. 

 After conducting a comprehensive review of Adi's case, ICE said in the statement that it has chosen not to grant a stay of removal.

Over the past decade, Adi's immigration case has "undergone exhaustive judicial review at multiple levels of the nation's courts, including before the immigration courts, federal appeals courts and U.S. district court. In each review, the courts have held that Adi does not have a legal basis to remain in the US," ICE said in the statement.

Adi's last few months were a rollercoaster of emotions, expecting deportation amid the ramped-up crackdown on illegal immigration across the US as part of the Trump administration's stance on the issue.

Adi and his second wife Fidaa, a US citizen, arranged to leave the United States at their own expense in early January. They sold the family home and prepared to say goodbye to everyone.

"ICE agents were to meet them at the airport and remove his ankle bracelet before he boarded the flight," Adi's attorney told CNN. "On January 4th, ICE called to say that they canceled the departure date -- that he should not depart as scheduled and that no new date was set." 

But according to Leopold, Adi was asked instead to report to ICE local headquarters on January 15 for a routine check-in to discuss the case. Adi was escorted by several supporters including Ryan, but he was taken into custody without being given a reason.

Adi was not able to see his family before being put on a plane to Amman on January 30.

A 40% rise in arrests

Over the past year tens of thousands have been arrested by ICE, according to Human Rights Watch. Many, like Adi, are deeply rooted in their communities and have no criminal convictions.

More undocumented immigrants have been arrested under the Trump administration, while deportations have lagged behind the rates of the Obama administration.

Last year, ICE's deputy Director Thomas D. Homan said that under Trump's administration, undocumented immigrants "should be afraid," explaining that anyone who has violated the law should be looking over their shoulder. ICE has made clear that while they still prioritize criminals, they also prioritize undocumented immigrants with final deportation orders and do not consider anyone exempt from being arrested or put into deportation proceedings.

"I don't think there is any question that this is the new normal ... To watch these families get ripped apart is the most heart-breaking thing any American citizen could ever see ... Because you are for these families, it doesn't mean you are not for a secure border," said Ryan.

 

<img alt="Amer Adi says he'll continue to fight to return to the US." class="media__image" src="//cdn.cnn.com/cnnnext/dam/assets/180207144150-palestinian-deported-after-39-years-in-the-us-karadsheh-pkg-00002002-large-169.jpg">

Amer Adi says he'll continue to fight to return to the US.

 "I am for a humane pathway for good people who want to participate in the American dream and who have contributed to this country for 40 years and are an American in every sense of the word," he said.

A day after arriving in Amman, a city he barely recognizes now, Adi was still in shock and disbelief.

"The American dream started 40 years ago for me ... I built this whole thing scratch from nothing. Even if anybody wants to stop that American dream, I won't let them. I'm going to keep the fight going," an emotional Adi told CNN.

The hardest thing, he said, is being away from his family.

"I miss my wife, the kids," he said, choking back tears. "I miss Youngstown. I miss everybody."

[SamajaAlluduShanmukh]

 

With no job US coming any issues please tell know

[tennisluvr]

3 minutes ago, SamajaAlluduShanmukh said:

 

With no job US coming any issues please tell know

No issues, you can come here look for a job in six months. drive uber/lyft till then

[SamajaAlluduShanmukh]

8 minutes ago, tennisluvr said:

No issues, you can come here look for a job in six months. drive uber/lyft till then

Neenu H1 lo vunna bhayaa and last week job over. Is it safe to travel visa stamping vundi

[tennisluvr]

@samaja_varagamana blessings tho anything possible 

[Quickgun_murugan]

1 minute ago, tennisluvr said:

@samaja_varagamana blessings tho anything possible 

already bayata pedda campaign nadustundi kaka...

 

M‏ @mavchicago

FollowFollow @mavchicago

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M Retweeted M

Who will make 5 calls to DC today? Simple msg. Tell them to enact @POTUS 2016promise: “I WILL END FOREVER THE USE OF THE H1B AS A CHEAP LABOR PROGRAM & INSTITUTE AN ABSOLUTE REQUIREMT TO HIRE AMERICAN WORKERS FIRST FOR EVERY VISA&IMMIGRATION PROGRAM. NO EXCEPTIONS.”

[tennisluvr]

1 minute ago, Quickgun_murugan said:

already bayata pedda campaign nadustundi kaka...

 

M‏ @mavchicago

FollowFollow @mavchicago

More

M Retweeted M

Who will make 5 calls to DC today? Simple msg. Tell them to enact @POTUS 2016promise: “I WILL END FOREVER THE USE OF THE H1B AS A CHEAP LABOR PROGRAM & INSTITUTE AN ABSOLUTE REQUIREMT TO HIRE AMERICAN WORKERS FIRST FOR EVERY VISA&IMMIGRATION PROGRAM. NO EXCEPTIONS.”

Is this our @KumarUnclein musugu 

[Quickgun_murugan]

Just now, tennisluvr said:

Is this our @KumarUnclein musugu 

ＡＺＣｏｎｓｅｒｖａｔｉｖｅ‏ @AZConservative1 Feb 6

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ＡＺＣｏｎｓｅｒｖａｔｉｖｅ Retweeted Green_dream

Kill #1B Kill #L1 Kill #H4EAD Anyone complaining about Green Card position goes to the back of the line. Buh Bubi!

ＡＺＣｏｎｓｅｒｖａｔｉｖｅ added,

Green_dream @green_dzyn

Replying to @ElvisN0tPresley @keithellison @ErikaAndiola

funny thing is that only the spouses or kids of #h1b holders are subject to restriction. Bigger abuse is on #L1 visa where spouses are allowed to work & the visa holders often abuse system to get #GreenCard. The law was enacted in 90. #TimesUp for change.

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[Quickgun_murugan]

Just now, tennisluvr said:

Is this our @KumarUnclein musugu 

entho mandi @KumarUncle lu unnaru bayata...

[chittimallu2]

TLDR

 

why sent back?

[tom bhayya]

oka desi professor ni kuda ilaaney deport chesaaru kadha 

[tennisluvr]

Just now, chittimallu2 said:

TLDR

 

why sent back?

Illegally staying ani

[tennisluvr]

@samaja_varagamana vuncle daughters citizens anta plus very Modable, oka sari look veyyi.

Nee lanti chaaku lanti kurrodi kosam waiting emo vallu

[tom bhayya]

A chemistry professor from Lawrence, Kansas was arrested outside his home by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents who were waiting for him on his front lawn as he prepared to take his seventh-grade daughter to school.

Syed Ahmed Jamal, 55, a native of Bangladesh with no criminal record, was handcuffed and taken away on Jan. 24, according to the Kansas City Star. The newspaper said that as her father was being led away, the daughter ran to get her mother and brother.

Jamal, who holds a temporary work permit and is an adjunct professor at Park University in Kansas City, has been ordered deported. Immigration lawyer Jeffrey Y. Bennett filed a request on Friday, Feb. 2 to stay his deportation. The Kansas City newspaper said Jamal was believed to be detained in Morgan County, Missouri some 160 miles away from his wife, a Bangladeshi immigrant. The couple has three children, all native-born U.S. citizens, the newspaper said.

 

According to a Feb. 4 report in the Washington Post, Jamal was taken into custody without a chance to say goodbye to his wife and children. The newspaper report said he arrived more than three decades ago to the U.S. where he worked toward graduate degrees in pharmaceutical engineering and molecular bioscience. He changed his student visa to an H-1B visa and then when he began pursuit of his doctorate, he became the holder of a student visa again.

An ICE official told the Washington Post that the agency “continues to focus its enforcement resources on individuals who pose a threat to national security, public safety and border security.” Jamal’s detention is among the latest in a series of efforts by ICE to intercept immigrants with no criminal records. An ICE official told the Washington Post that Acting Director Thomas Homan does not believe in exempting classes or categories of immigrants from enforcement.

The Washington Post report said Jamal’s visa status became invalid in 2011 and a “voluntary departure” order was issued. But one year later, a judge permitted him to stay in the U.S. provided he maintained his work permit through regular check-ins with ICE.

“At that time, President Obama directed the Department of Homeland Security to exercise prosecutorial discretion on certain people who could legally be deported . . . and refrain from deporting them if they have more favorable factors than negative factors in their life,” Bennett told the newspaper. In requesting a stay of removal for Jamal, Bennett filed a document with the ICE office on Feb. 2 noting: “Not only does Mr. Jamal teach his children to contribute to society, but he models this belief as well.” He is a public school volunteer and was recently a candidate for school board.

A Change.org petition is gathering signatures in support of Jamal. Supporters call him a model citizen.

 

His brother Syed Hussain Jamal of Phoenix, Arizona told The Post that his sibling, a secular Muslim, would be in grave danger back home: He belongs to an Urdu-speaking ethnic minority known as the Biharis, and would likely face persecution by radical Islamist extremists.

An ICE spokesman told The Washington Post that federal immigration judges make final decisions “based on the merits of each individual case.”

Jamal’s son, Taseen, 14, wrote a letter that is part of the Change.org petition, sharing his concerns for his family’s future:

“If my father is deported, my siblings and I may never get to see him again. He is an older man, and due to the conditions of his home country, he might not be able to survive. My father called us, and he was crying like a little child because he was thinking about what would happen to us if he got deported….A home is not a home without a father.”

[phatposts]

IDK why they cry. Manam emo legal gaa untoo taxes pay chestoo oka month jobless aithe vellipovala? Vaallemo illegal gaa untoo anni chakka pedutuinteee inhuman aa? Evadu ramannadu, evadu undamannadu.

I feel bad, but I have no sympathy.