Sami is fifteen-years old and has Down’s Syndrome. He cannot realize that his mother and primary caregiver, Fatiha Elgarib, is scheduled to be deported to Morocco on Monday, after more than twenty years in the United States.
Sami was born in the United States and is an American citizen. He has a heart defect, sleep apnea and hypothyroidism. He is nonverbal and needs care 24-hours a day, seven days a week, care that is mainly provided by his mother.
Sami’s parents originally came to the United States on work visas. They have spent a small fortune over the past twenty years trying to obtain permanent, legal status.
According to an article at the disability advocacy site, Inclusion Evolution:
Sami’s second oldest sister, Sara, told me she will likely have to stop working full time to care for her brother, since her father has the most secure job, her oldest sister has a family of her own, and her youngest sister is still in school. She’s especially nervous because her legal status is likely to be in limbo as well.
“What is happening is not about protecting American communities—my 15-year-old brother, a citizen by birth, is about to lose his main source of care and support. While I am a Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipient, my status will soon be in limbo, too, since the administration revoked the program. And then what will my brother do? And what of the communities that my sister and I are enmeshed in, that we’ve contributed to? People make up communities, not their papers. I was 5 when I came here. I went from kindergarten through high school here. This is my country, these are my people,” says Sara.
America’s Voice gives some additional background to Sami’s story:
After 9/11, the federal government advertised a special registration of Muslims, based entirely on religion. Fatiha’s husband decided to go in — but officers handcuffed him. Fatiha tried to clarify and explain the family’s story, but they got angry and took away her passport. They told her she would receive a summoning notice within 30 days in the mail. That notice never came.
Six years later, in 2007, agents came to Fatiha’s house to arrest her for not appearing at a court hearing she didn’t know she was supposed to be at. They detained her for five months before letting her go.
The Obama Administration saw fit to allow Fatiha to stay in the US considering the needs of her children and her positive record in the United States. Fatiha was free to live her life as long as she “checked in” with ICE once a year. The Trump Administration, however, has been deporting mothers and fathers like her in a series of “silent raids” that don’t take into consideration the costs of ripping someone like Fatiha away from her family and community.
When Fatiha attended her annual meeting with ICE this year, she was told that she would be deported back to Morocco. Her last day in the US is scheduled to be November 27, 2017, right after Thanksgiving.
It is only because Sam’s father complied in good faith with the federal government’s request and reported that ICE became involved in the first place.
If you want to help Sami, please call Congressman Michael Turner at (937) 225-2843 and ask him to intervene. Meanwhile, Sami’s mother is forced to wear an ankle monitor while she awaits deportation.