Abdikadir Mohamed landed at JFK International Airport on Dec. 13, 2017, where he planned to board another flight to join his wife and child in Columbus, Ohio. He never made it there. Mohamed was admitted into the U.S., but as he was walking to get his luggage he was stopped by a border patrol officer who asked him, “Are you from Mogadishu?” The Somali native replied yes.
For the next 15 hours, Mohamed was questioned by officers while his requests for a translator were denied. Eighteen months later, he remains locked up at the Elizabeth Detention Center, fighting to remain in the United States and recovering from a serious illness in what supporters say was a case of medical neglect. On Tuesday, Mohamed, 32, will return to immigration court at the detention centre to plead his case, while his supporters rally outside. How did a new immigrant with a spouse visa end up imprisoned and separated from his wife, a U.S. citizen, and his two daughters — one who was born while he was in jail?
Misunderstandings by officers, the lack of a translator and a generally tense environment after President Trump’s “travel ban” were factors leading to Mohamed’s detention, said his attorney Talia Peleg, a professor at CUNY School of Law’s Immigrant and Noncitizen Rights’ Clinic. The case also raises question about the authority and expertise of the Tactical Terrorism Response Team, a division of Customs and Border Patrol, which stopped him, she said.
“He missed the birth of his first child while waiting for his visa to come through in South Africa,” said Peleg, “While detained, he missed the birth of his second child. It’s been such a nightmare for wife and children, and we really hope judge will grant the case and release him.” His wife, Malyuun Mahamed, 25, a U.S. citizen who lives in Columbus, Ohio, said she dreams of having her husband home this Father’s Day with her daughters, now 1 and 2 years old. “His daughters are growing up without him,” she said. “We are still missing him. We want him to one day join his kids and his family to be united.”
DETAINED: More migrants from the border held in NJ
LAWSUIT: Daughter of immigration detainee who died in custody sues Hudson County
‘PERFECT KID’: Family remembers West Point cadet killed in crash
“He missed the birth of his first child while waiting for his visa to come through in South Africa,” Peleg said. “While detained, he missed the birth of his second child. It’s been such a nightmare for his wife and children, and we really hope the judge will grant the case and release him.”
His wife, Malyuun Mahamed, 25, a U.S. citizen who lives in Columbus, said she dreams of having her husband home this Father’s Day with her daughters, now 1 and 2 years old.
“His daughters are growing up without him,” she said. “We are still missing him. We want him to one day join his kids and his family to be united.”
