My Husband's Father was Deported Yesterday

[Zee Bee 61]

Massive hugs to your family. No one deserves to be treated like that.

[LoriLawless 0]

Wow! My SO comes through Charlotte all the time. I can't believe they did that to your FIL

I'm so shocked and sad that you had to go through all that.

I hope you DO do something about.

[allousa 1]

Wow....I don't know what to say. I can't even begin to imagine how difficult this was for your family. I can't even imagine having to tell a 70 year old man he has to spend the night in jail. I am so sorry this happened to you.

You know, I actually expected something like this to happen to my husband when he came in. I just figured because of his age (30's) and the fact that he's Palestinian, I just figured we were going to have trouble, but he really had hardly any problems.

We never, ever dreamed this could happen to his parents. And you know what...this was their 3rd visit to the U.S.

His whole family have said they will NEVER step foot into this country again. My husband said that even if his parents wanted to try and come back that he would never let them.

[allousa 1]

When i read the first part i was thinking the same thing, as many problems as this has given you guys, i would be more than ready to leave, hope it all gets straighten out, and is there any legal action that can be taken against these officers/security when everything is out in the open. I would not let it just die down, it needs to be publicly noted what happened up the ladder as far as it can go.

We are definitely going to proceed with a lawyer. My husband said he wants to make sure that this doesn't happen to anyone else. He doesn't want he parents to ever step foot in this country again...he said he doesn't want them to come back here even if they offered a private jet and a million dollars! But he doesn't want this to happen to anyone else.

I know that we will more than likely have an up hill battle trying to make anyone accountable because the I truly believe that they don't care how we were treated. Customs is given carte' blanche to treat people anyway they want. Even our attorney said that the times he has dealt with Customs in Charlotte, some of them weren't even aware of what the laws were.

Since 9/11, Homeland Security has the power to beat you first and ask questions later. I think we will be hard pressed to find someone that actually cares that a 70 year old Arab man was treated so badly. And that just makes me sick!

Did Customs provide your FIL with an interpreter?

My FIL said that he spoke to an interpreter over the phone, it was not actually someone in the office. I know there can be slight variations in Arabic language due to region, so we can't be sure that what was translated was accurate. We just don't know.

[allousa 1]

I think it is disgusting. I know that there are measures that need to be taken to protect the country but there is never any excuse to be treated the way you and your family were treated. I would definitely take this further - it is disgusting that they can get away with doing this, especially as your FIL took it all on the chin and just got on with things, seemingly bearing no grudges either.

If it was all a misunderstanding, why did they still deport him? I would be so p*ssed right now.

Mahoosive hugs to you and yours *hugs*

We got the impression from a couple of comments that once the order for removal came from the top, there was no stopping it. Kinda of like once the train leaves the stations, it can't backup.

We kept asking who was "came from the top", but again they would never tell us who ordered the removal and why.

[amal 4]

I got all teary reading the 2nd half of this. I'm so mad right now ....i can't even begin to describe it. How dare anyone treat anyone else this way and by all means due to the patient privacy act, your FIL had the right to have his son in there to be witness to what was happening. I'm now scared to have my in-laws come visit at all. I'd end up in jail if this happened to any of them coz I wouldn't be able to contain myself...omg...*steam out the nose* I hope u get allllllllllllllllll the media involved in this one..someone needs to be punished for this!!!!!! I'm so sorry and extend it out to all of the family...

[hollyw 0]

What an awful experience. I'm so sorry your FIL and your family had to go through all of that. I can't imagine going to another country and being treated so horribly. When I was in Algeria I was the only foreigner (other than french/algerians) in the airport and every single customsagent/airport security person I came in contact with wished me well.

You should make as much noise as you can about this. It may not fix anything, but it will at least put it out there.

[doodlebugg 10]

I'm speechless. I really hope you do contact all media that you can get your hands on. The world needs to know what bullsh!t assh0les work in Charlotte!!!!

[allousa 1]

I almost cried reading this. I am so sorry.

Sara,

I can't even begin to tell you how much we all cried about this. While my MIL was staying with us overnight, she would just walk around the house and just cry. Sam and I would try and comfort her and we all started crying.

My aunt came over the morning they were leaving and she handed my MIL this porclein heart. She put it in her hand and looked at my husband and said through tears "Please tell your mother that I am SO sorry this has happened to them and that I give her this heart to for her to know that WE love them". I had to leave the room I was crying so hard.

My husband and I never ate the entire time this was going on and after we left the airport (my grandmother had our son), we went to a restaurant to eat. We were so empty, shocked and tired that we barely talked. After we got our son to bed, we just laid in the bed holding each others hand and cried.

I was fortunate to have spent 6 weeks with them when they came over in 2001 (before 9/11) and then each and everytime I've gone over to visit, I have stayed with them. They have NEVER let me pay for anything...EVER. My MIL has even told me that I'm her favorite DIL and that she loves me as if I'm her own. I feel so hollow inside for being robbed of the time that we were planning to spend with them.

We had bought a new bed for his mom (she has back problems) so she would be extra comfortable while she was here. We were planning on taking them to the big aquarium in Atlanta and to the beach. But most importantly, my husband and I were excited for them to have undivided attention with our son. My FIL is his only living grandfather and I really wanted them to have time to bond.

After all that I've described here, it still doesn't convey the shock, disgust and deep sadness that I feel.

[brnidokiegurl 0]

Formal apology and reimbursment of ticket and expense money

[Beauty for Ashes 257]

I cannot begin to accurately describe the nightmare that my husband, his family, our son and I have been through the last two days.

Tuesday afternoon, my husband, son and I went to the airport to pick up his parents. They were coming for a four week visit. They flew from Morocco to Frankfurt and then direct to Charlotte. We waited and waited in baggage claim for them and found out that all the people from their flight had come through. After we were sent to no less than 4 different counters in different sections of the airport (each saying they couldn't help us and to go somewhere else), we finally found out that some people were being held in Customs, but they would not verify that it was his parents. Keep in mind that his father is 70 and mother 65 and only his father speaks a very small amount of English.

My husband gets a call on his cell phone from the Customs people asking to confirm the address that their parents are going to be visiting. My husband gives them the information and tries to ask them questions but the officer hangs up. After waiting for an hour (at this point his parents have been held for 2 hours), and also keep in mind that our 2 year old son is with us and acting like a wild beast in the airport, we try and approach the Customs exit door to find out what is going on. They start yelling at us to go back to the baggage claim and I just lost it. An officer comes out and approaches me and asks what is the problem. I explained to him that we've been sent all over the airport trying to find out about my husband's elderly parents who speak no English and that no one will give us any information as to their condition, where they are and how they are. The officer proceeds to tell us that they are just completing some paperwork and that they will be out in a few minutes and to just wait in the baggage claim area.

After another hour, my son is in the worst meltdown mode because it's his bedtime and he has only had a bag of M&Ms and lemonade at this point. Remember that baggage claim has no restaurants or shops, only vending machines...at least the one does in Charlotte. So I take our son out to the car and to find a fast food place close by the airport. We then waited in the Cell Phone Lot, so that my husband could just call once his parents came out and I could just drive up and pick up everybody. After another 45 minutes, he calls and says that they have released his mom but not his dad and that I need to come inside. I approach the Customs door and they start yelling at me to go back and when I told her my husband just called for me to come there the officer starts yelling at me saying she doesn't care and to go back. After a phone call to my husband who was in Customs, got an officer to meet me, I was finally able to meet up with him and my MIL and husband. I find out at this time that they've even taken my husband back for questioning and pulled his green card.

Finally they let his father come into the waiting room and my husband starts asking him what all has happened. My FIL tells my husband that they asked him all kinds of questions about where he works and general information but nothing at all political in nature. My FIL explained to the officers that he received his visa from the U.S. State Department and the Customs officers told him that they don't recognize the State Department! #######!!!???!!!!!

By this time it is close to 11:00pm and his parents have been detained since 3:15pm. I have not mentioned that sometime around 10:00pm my son's diaper is so soaked through and he is soaking wet that the diaper just started falling apart and pieces of it were falling out of his shorts and pee was running down his leg. We didn't have any diapers with us as we didn't expect to be at the airport for 7 hours. I was allowed to go out to baggage claim and beg someone for a diapers and some wipes.

Have you thought about contacting your state senator? I would proceed with a request directly to HOMELAND SECURITY. My guess is that he had a name hit or a former membership in something or had an associate somewhere in his past that showed up as a hit whether it was accurate or not. They are rejecting even people like Cat Stephens who is a folk singer based on name hits, tags or other reasons that no one wants to tell anyone.

Even if he is not interested in coming, I would definitely get to the bottom of things as to why he was detained to begin with by working your way through the system to figure out what the mix up was. My guess based on reading similar cases is that they had a piece of information about your FIL no matter how irrelevant or not even accurate or a name hit. He may even be on a watch list from Morocco for some kind of association there which would explain why the state department gave him a visa and passed him and then at the border he was held. You need to find out EXACTLY why they did that so you can inform others . I would definitely contact the Council on American Islamic Relations and at least give them the details of the case so they can help others and get the word out that it happened.

The organization is CAIR and they collect information on discriminatory acts and abuse of Muslims and Arabs both in the USA and out of

[Staashi 371]

I almost cried reading this. I am so sorry.

Sara,

I can't even begin to tell you how much we all cried about this. While my MIL was staying with us overnight, she would just walk around the house and just cry. Sam and I would try and comfort her and we all started crying.

My aunt came over the morning they were leaving and she handed my MIL this porclein heart. She put it in her hand and looked at my husband and said through tears "Please tell your mother that I am SO sorry this has happened to them and that I give her this heart to for her to know that WE love them". I had to leave the room I was crying so hard.

My husband and I never ate the entire time this was going on and after we left the airport (my grandmother had our son), we went to a restaurant to eat. We were so empty, shocked and tired that we barely talked. After we got our son to bed, we just laid in the bed holding each others hand and cried.

I was fortunate to have spent 6 weeks with them when they came over in 2001 (before 9/11) and then each and everytime I've gone over to visit, I have stayed with them. They have NEVER let me pay for anything...EVER. My MIL has even told me that I'm her favorite DIL and that she loves me as if I'm her own. I feel so hollow inside for being robbed of the time that we were planning to spend with them.

We had bought a new bed for his mom (she has back problems) so she would be extra comfortable while she was here. We were planning on taking them to the big aquarium in Atlanta and to the beach. But most importantly, my husband and I were excited for them to have undivided attention with our son. My FIL is his only living grandfather and I really wanted them to have time to bond.

After all that I've described here, it still doesn't convey the shock, disgust and deep sadness that I feel.

Allousa, my heart is breaking for you all right now. I feel terrible about all of this and the way you describe your relationship with your MIL is comparable to mine with my MIL. As a USC with American lineage going back 300 years, my heart is disgusted and my soul aches to know what this country's representatives have done to your family's spirit. It brings me way down when I think of all the plans, the gifts, the little things you all had prepared for them. We do the same...right now, we have a whole closet full of items just waiting for my ILs visit to the US. There is no peace to be known in all of this, no explanation can be offered - I just feel a deep rage inside of me that this happened to such good people. The thing that really makes me sick though, is think that this is not the first time...and this probably happens on a daily basis - that makes me ill.

Edited July 10, 2008 by Staashi

[Beauty for Ashes 257]

I cannot begin to accurately describe the nightmare that my husband, his family, our son and I have been through the last two days.

Tuesday afternoon, my husband, son and I went to the airport to pick up his parents. They were coming for a four week visit. They flew from Morocco to Frankfurt and then direct to Charlotte. We waited and waited in baggage claim for them and found out that all the people from their flight had come through. After we were sent to no less than 4 different counters in different sections of the airport (each saying they couldn't help us and to go somewhere else), we finally found out that some people were being held in Customs, but they would not verify that it was his parents. Keep in mind that his father is 70 and mother 65 and only his father speaks a very small amount of English.

My husband gets a call on his cell phone from the Customs people asking to confirm the address that their parents are going to be visiting. My husband gives them the information and tries to ask them questions but the officer hangs up. After waiting for an hour (at this point his parents have been held for 2 hours), and also keep in mind that our 2 year old son is with us and acting like a wild beast in the airport, we try and approach the Customs exit door to find out what is going on. They start yelling at us to go back to the baggage claim and I just lost it. An officer comes out and approaches me and asks what is the problem. I explained to him that we've been sent all over the airport trying to find out about my husband's elderly parents who speak no English and that no one will give us any information as to their condition, where they are and how they are. The officer proceeds to tell us that they are just completing some paperwork and that they will be out in a few minutes and to just wait in the baggage claim area.

After another hour, my son is in the worst meltdown mode because it's his bedtime and he has only had a bag of M&Ms and lemonade at this point. Remember that baggage claim has no restaurants or shops, only vending machines...at least the one does in Charlotte. So I take our son out to the car and to find a fast food place close by the airport. We then waited in the Cell Phone Lot, so that my husband could just call once his parents came out and I could just drive up and pick up everybody. After another 45 minutes, he calls and says that they have released his mom but not his dad and that I need to come inside. I approach the Customs door and they start yelling at me to go back and when I told her my husband just called for me to come there the officer starts yelling at me saying she doesn't care and to go back. After a phone call to my husband who was in Customs, got an officer to meet me, I was finally able to meet up with him and my MIL and husband. I find out at this time that they've even taken my husband back for questioning and pulled his green card.

Finally they let his father come into the waiting room and my husband starts asking him what all has happened. My FIL tells my husband that they asked him all kinds of questions about where he works and general information but nothing at all political in nature. My FIL explained to the officers that he received his visa from the U.S. State Department and the Customs officers told him that they don't recognize the State Department! #######!!!???!!!!!

By this time it is close to 11:00pm and his parents have been detained since 3:15pm. I have not mentioned that sometime around 10:00pm my son's diaper is so soaked through and he is soaking wet that the diaper just started falling apart and pieces of it were falling out of his shorts and pee was running down his leg. We didn't have any diapers with us as we didn't expect to be at the airport for 7 hours. I was allowed to go out to baggage claim and beg someone for a diapers and some wipes.

Have you thought about contacting your state senator? I would proceed with a request directly to HOMELAND SECURITY. My guess is that he had a name hit or a former membership in something or had an associate somewhere in his past that showed up as a hit whether it was accurate or not. They are rejecting even people like Cat Stephens who is a folk singer based on name hits, tags or other reasons that no one wants to tell anyone.

Even if he is not interested in coming, I would definitely get to the bottom of things as to why he was detained to begin with by working your way through the system to figure out what the mix up was. My guess based on reading similar cases is that they had a piece of information about your FIL no matter how irrelevant or not even accurate or a name hit. He may even be on a watch list from Morocco for some kind of association there which would explain why the state department gave him a visa and passed him and then at the border he was held. You need to find out EXACTLY why they did that so you can inform others . I would definitely contact the Council on American Islamic Relations and at least give them the details of the case so they can help others and get the word out that it happened.

The organization is CAIR and they collect information on discriminatory acts and abuse of Muslims and Arabs both in the USA and out of

CONTACT ACLU OF NORTH CAROLINA IMMEDIATELY

P.O. Box 28004, Raleigh, NC 27611 • Phone: 919-834-3390 • E-mail: aclunc@nc.rr.com

[caybee 21]

I almost cried reading this. I am so sorry.

Sara,

I can't even begin to tell you how much we all cried about this. While my MIL was staying with us overnight, she would just walk around the house and just cry. Sam and I would try and comfort her and we all started crying.

My aunt came over the morning they were leaving and she handed my MIL this porclein heart. She put it in her hand and looked at my husband and said through tears "Please tell your mother that I am SO sorry this has happened to them and that I give her this heart to for her to know that WE love them". I had to leave the room I was crying so hard.

My husband and I never ate the entire time this was going on and after we left the airport (my grandmother had our son), we went to a restaurant to eat. We were so empty, shocked and tired that we barely talked. After we got our son to bed, we just laid in the bed holding each others hand and cried.

I was fortunate to have spent 6 weeks with them when they came over in 2001 (before 9/11) and then each and everytime I've gone over to visit, I have stayed with them. They have NEVER let me pay for anything...EVER. My MIL has even told me that I'm her favorite DIL and that she loves me as if I'm her own. I feel so hollow inside for being robbed of the time that we were planning to spend with them.

We had bought a new bed for his mom (she has back problems) so she would be extra comfortable while she was here. We were planning on taking them to the big aquarium in Atlanta and to the beach. But most importantly, my husband and I were excited for them to have undivided attention with our son. My FIL is his only living grandfather and I really wanted them to have time to bond.

After all that I've described here, it still doesn't convey the shock, disgust and deep sadness that I feel.

I hope when you contact your representatives and others that you will submit the posts you have written here filled with your raw emotion, since the facts are also contained within them. I am at work in tears reading what you have written, especially this last post. I still cannot put in words the disgust I feel right now. Since I don't know your MIL and FIL, I see my husband's parents when you talk about them, and I cannot imagine how painful it would be to go through that with them. I know it won't make up for what you've been through, but I hope you receive some compensation for all of this, and most importantly a real apology.

[anitacastillo 0]

So very sad, disgusting and wrong!!!

If someone, especially an elderly man, is granted a US visa and has lawfully returned before - why should the border agents stop his visit?

My prays are with you and your family.

My cousin had a boyfriend visiting from Italy. They stopped him on entry so he said, fine I'll go right home. Intead he was held in jail for over a week - and only got to leave the US under media and political pressure.