A US attorney has lambasted ICE’s “lack of humanity” after they reportedly detained a father who was his son’s sole caregiver three months before the latter passed away.
30-year-old Wael Tarabishi died last Friday after battling Pompe disease, a rare and lifelong inherited condition that causes a buildup of glycogen in muscles and organs, resulting in severe muscle weakness and respiratory failure.
As per reports, Wael’s health declined significantly and he ultimately passed away. His body, it’s said, was laid to rest without his father present.
Tragically, Maher Tarabishi was taken into custody by ICE during a routine immigration check-in in Dallas, three months prior to his son’s death.
After he was detained in the Bluebonnet Detention Facility in Anson, Texas, Maher’s family issued a plea for his temporary release so that he could continue providing specialized care for Wael.
Reports state that Maher was specifically trained in how to attend his son’s needs, but the request for his release was denied, even after his family changed their plea to beg that he be allowed to say goodbye to his son when Wael’s condition worsened.
As per ICE’s website, detention standards are supposed to allow for detainees to “maintain ties with their families through emergency staff-escorted trips into the community to visit critically ill members of the immediate family or to attend their funerals.”
The Tarabishi family’s attorney, Ali Elhoor, has claimed that on Tuesday, ICE declined the request for Maher to attend his son’s funeral two days later.
Shahd Arnaout, Wael’s sister-in-law, told CNN that the family had greatly struggled to take over Wael’s round-the-clock care routine, which required bathing him and administering food and medication via a tube, among other things.
“We are profoundly disappointed with ICE’s decision to deny Maher Tarabishi the opportunity to say his final goodbye to his beloved son, Wael,” Elhorr said in a statement.
“Today’s decision to keep him from saying goodbye is a reflection of the tragic lack of humanity by those in charge.”
Arnaout revealed that Wael’s health had significantly declined after his father was detained by ICE. The rest of the family weren’t trained in exactly how to care for him during emergency situations, and so had to go on the advice of healthcare professionals.
Moreover, Arnaout said that Maher’s detention exacted a heavy emotional toll on Wael.
“Mentally, he started to recognize that ‘I don’t feel safe anymore.’ The one person that makes me feel safe and gives me hope that I will live to the next day and makes me feel like I’m a normal person is not there anymore for me,” Arnaout said.
In November, Wael was admitted to hospital with sepsis and pneumonia. In December he was taken to hospital again after contracting a stomach infection due to the displacement of his feeding tube.
The second incident saw him admitted to the ICU at Methodist Mansfield Medical Center, where he remained for a month before passing away on January 23.
Before his death, Wael was able to write a statement regarding his relationship with his father before he was detained by ICE. His words, reported by the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, told how his dad was the ‘one who keeps me alive when I’m at my weakest’.
“Without him, I am nothing,” Wael added. “Without him, I cannot survive.”
Reports state that Maher initially arrived in the US from Kuwait in 1994. Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs, Tricia McLaughlin, who oversees the Department of Homeland Security, said he was a ‘self-admitted member’ of the Palestine Liberation Organization.
McLaughlin stated that Maher resided in the U.S. illegally for almost 20 years after being told to leave by the Board of Immigration Appeals in 2006. He was able to remain in the country thereafter to attend to his son’s care needs.
As per the latest information, Maher now faces being deported to Jordan in the Middle East.
Via the Instagram page established to garner support for Maher’s release from detention, his family expressed their heartbreak at Maher not being permitted to attend his son’s funeral.
“Today is a day that should NOT have happened, and now we have to say goodbye without his father, Maher Tarabishi, by our side,” the post reads. “We have to say goodbye while Maher Tarabishi is alone in a detention facility – the person who was his best friend and caretaker. This isn’t fair. This is cruel, beyond words scan describe.”
Rest in peace, Wael Tarabishi.
READ MORE
- ‘Pink coat lady’ who filmed “murder” of Alex Pretti breaks silence
- Neuroscientist reveals why Alex Pretti reached for his back pocket as he was shot dead by ICE
