For four days after being detained at a Houston airport and relocated to Chicago, a 16-year-old Jordanian boy wasn’t allowed to talk with his Texas attorneys — even after arriving at a youth shelter on the North Side that is run by a nonprofit, his attorneys said Thursday.
Mohammad Abu Khadra is staying at a shelter operated by Heartland Alliance that serves unaccompanied minors traveling without proper immigration papers, according to the teen’s brother.
The high school student was detained Saturday at George Bush Intercontinental Airport amid the chaotic rollout of President Donald Trump’s executive order suspending the U.S. refugee program and freezing the immigration of travelers from seven Muslim-majority countries. Jordan was not among those listed in the order, but Mohammad’s attorneys said they think the events are connected.
Mohammad’s brother, Rami Abu Khadra, with whom the teenager was staying in the U.S., attributed the situation to "bad timing." Khadra said he was able to visit with Mohammad briefly at the Houston airport but had not been able to talk to him at the shelter as of Wednesday.
"Everything should be fine, but it’s some procedure we have to go through," said Khadra, 37, of Katy, Texas. "I spoke to the shelter there. They said he is eating good … he made some friends there."
The situation is stressing out his parents, who live in Jordan, Khadra said. Khadra has lived in the U.S. for several years on a green card with his wife and three children and works in a furniture store.
Sisters among last refugees to arrive at O’Hare as 120-day ban takes hold Angie Leventis Lourgos
The Congolese sisters were weary but smiling as they took their first steps in their new country at O’Hare International Airport. They are two of the last refugees to trickle into Chicago following last week’s presidential order suspending the national refugee program.
“We are happy,” Georgette,…
The Congolese sisters were weary but smiling as they took their first steps in their new country at O’Hare International Airport. They are two of the last refugees to trickle into Chicago following last week’s presidential order suspending the national refugee program.
“We are happy,” Georgette,…
(Angie Leventis Lourgos)
The Department of Children and Family Services, which licenses facilities for minors, confirmed the Chicago address that Khadra was given is a youth shelter. Online records and phone calls also show there is a shelter for children at the same address linked to Heartland.
The Heartland Alliance, an anti-poverty nonprofit, will not confirm whether Mohammad is one of its residents, citing confidentially reasons.
Heartland operates nine shelters in Chicago and its suburbs that house unaccompanied minors referred by the Office of Refugee Resettlement, according to Susan Trudeau, a senior director at Heartland.
The children at the shelters were flagged by the Department of Homeland Security, she said.
The average stay for a child is 30 days, and they are allowed to contact family, she said. In all, the facilities have up to 512 beds.
"(The shelters) are very homelike, comfortable" Trudeau said. "Children go to school. They receive medical attention and counseling. They have mental health professionals … they also go out on field trips."
Heartland Alliance, founded in part by Jane Addams, has combated homelessness since 1888 and offers services in housing, health care and jobs throughout the Midwest. The organization also helps resettle refugees in Chicago and operates the National Immigrant Justice Center, which provides legal services to immigrants, refugees and asylum-seekers.
Up to 50 held at O’Hare on Monday for Trump immigration ban Nereida Moreno and Stacy St. Clair
Between 40 and 50 travelers were held at O’Hare International Airport for additional questioning Monday, as concerns and confusion continued over President Donald Trump’s immigration ban.
About 15 of those who were questioned had not cleared customs as of Monday evening, attorneys said. Of the…
Between 40 and 50 travelers were held at O’Hare International Airport for additional questioning Monday, as concerns and confusion continued over President Donald Trump’s immigration ban.
About 15 of those who were questioned had not cleared customs as of Monday evening, attorneys said. Of the…
(Nereida Moreno and Stacy St. Clair)
It is not clear why Mohammad was taken to a shelter in Chicago after being detained in Houston. The Office of Refugee Resettlement and Customs and Border Protection would not comment on the specific case, citing privacy laws. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Chicago said it did not have any information about the case.
A CBP spokesperson said in an email that the case is not related to the executive order because Mohammad is not from one of the seven countries.
Prior to his detainment, the 16-year-old had been staying with his brother on a travel visa for about three months attending school and had returned to Jordan after it expired. He was on his way back with a renewed visa when he was taken into custody.
A teacher at his school noticed his absence, and she and her husband took to social media to highlight his predicament, garnering more than 1,500 retweets.
The American Civil Liberties Union in Texas learned about his situation and referred it to Mohammad’s current attorneys
Ali Zakaria, one of Mohammad’s attorneys, said he is working with the Chicago shelter to reunite Mohammad with his family, but that could take up to one month. He was finally able to make contact with the boy Wednesday morning, Zakaria said.
In the meantime, the boy is allowed to talk to his family twice a week for 10 minutes on the phone now that he’s been processed, Zakaria said.
Chicago-area lawyers flock to O’Hare to help travelers held at airport Stacy St. Clair and Grace Wong
Shortly after lunch Saturday, attorney Julia Schlozman received an email calling for lawyers to help people being held at O’Hare International Airport in the wake of President Donald Trump’s immigration order.
Schlozman, who had only signed up to volunteer with the International Refugee Assistance…
Shortly after lunch Saturday, attorney Julia Schlozman received an email calling for lawyers to help people being held at O’Hare International Airport in the wake of President Donald Trump’s immigration order.
Schlozman, who had only signed up to volunteer with the International Refugee Assistance…
(Stacy St. Clair and Grace Wong)
Zakaria said he thinks the case is related to the executive order because other clients told him that Muslims from many countries beyond the seven have been subject to intensive questioning. Without the order, he said, Mohammad would have sailed through customs in 10 minutes. Zakaria said it’s horrible to deny a child access to an attorney for so long.
He would not comment on specifics of the case, saying he was forming a defense for his client.
Zakaria said he doesn’t condone immigration violations or breaking the law but challenged the gravity of consequences for some cases.
"The overriding factor is that this is a 16-year-old kid," he said Thursday. "Even if it is a visa violation, it’s equivalent to a Class C misdemeanor — the same as a traffic ticket. Have we become a country where we detain a teen for five days or two weeks or two months on issues that are tantamount to a traffic ticket?"
Chicago immigration attorney Christopher Elmore, who is not involved in Mohammad’s case, said sometimes immigrants or refugees are transferred across state lines because existing facilities are full or do not exist.
Mohammad, for example, cannot be housed with adults because he is younger than 18 and must be in a youth-only shelter, attorneys said.
Still, the excess travel can traumatize kids who feel lost in the system and make connecting to their lawyers more difficult, Elmore said.
"It complicates the process if the person’s only family contacts are in another state and the attorneys are in another state," Elmore said. "It’s the logistics. Its not necessarily uncommon, but its definitely a problem that practitioners would like to see reduced."
echerney@chicagotribune.com
Twitter @Elyssacherney
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