VIDEO: Congressman helps Kurdish family after prevented entry into US
Fuad Sharef Suleman and his family planned to migrate to the US after working with an American organization as an interpreter but was sent back from Cairo Airport following President Donald Trump’s immigration ban.
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region (Kurdistan24) – Fuad Sharef Suleman and his family planned to migrate to the US after working with an American organization as an interpreter but was sent back from Cairo Airport following President Donald Trump’s immigration ban.
Suleman worked as an interpreter with a US government organization for years.
After he received assurance he would become a Green Card holder, he made preparations to move to the US with his family.
Suleman retired from his government job and sold all of his properties in the Kurdistan Region including his house, car, and land.
On Saturday, Suleman, accompanied by his family, flew to the US from Erbil International Airport (EIA), but they were sent back to Erbil from Cairo following Trump’s immigration ban.
Kurdistan24 interviewed Suleman and his family when they returned to EIA. “It is so odd to me that they [US] themselves gave me a visa and now they say you cannot enter the country,” Suleman told Kurdistan24.
“The US embassy gave us visas, and now the US administration says you can’t enter. What is that supposed to mean? They don’t trust their staff members,” he continued.
Suleman’s wife complained about Trump’s new order and questioned what her family should do after legally providing all the necessary paperwork and gaining a visa from the US embassy.
“Before we flew, we were in my brother’s house because we sold everything. Now, we have nothing except six bags. We don’t know what we should do,” Suleman’s wife told Kurdistan24.
On Monday, Jim Cooper, the US congressman representing the state of Tennessee, released a statement explaining Trump’s executive orders were “confusing, irresponsible, and make America less safe.”
“For example, Trump is denying entry to Iraqis and Kurds who helped US troops survive during the war,” Cooper stated.
He also referred to Suleman’s family, mentioning he was working on helping them.
“A Kurdish family was bound for Nashville on special immigrant visas. The father previously worked as a translator at an organization contracted by the US government. My office is currently working to help them,” Cooper concluded.
Suleman’s family is one of many examples of Kurdish nationals who had been prevented from entering the US after they gained official visas from the US embassies.
Editing by Karzan Sulaivany
(Araz Abdullah conducted the interview with Suleman)