Family Blames Travel Ban Is Keeping Mother From Seeing Dying 2-Year-Old
STOCKTON (CBS13) — A Stockton family is blaming President Trump's travel ban for keeping a mother from seeing her gravely ill two-year-old son.
Abdullah Hassan has been on life support for the last month and his condition is not improving. But his mother, a Yemeni national, is being kept out of the country.
It's a race against the clock for Ali Hassan, who is trying desperately to get his wife to the U.S. to say a final goodbye to their son.
"My wife is calling me every day wanting to kiss and hold our son... for the one last time," Hassan said.
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Abdullah was born with a degenerative brain disease that causes severe seizures. He's on life support at UCSF Benioff Children's Hospital in Oakland for the past month. He celebrated his second birthday just two days ago.
"Sometimes I just talk to him and start crying and say please, open your eyes. But it's too late," Hassan said.
But their efforts to see Abdullah one last time have hit a major snag for his mother because of the travel ban. The family says the Yemeni National has been denied entry into the U.S.
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While the U.S. State Department says it's processing her request for a waiver to get her into the country, the family says it is running out of time.
Now, the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) is pushing the embassy in Cairo to expedite her visa.
"We're calling for a waiver, just for the embassy to grant a waiver so she can be here with her son in his dying moments," said Vasim Elkarra Executive Director of CAIR.
While CAIR says they have reached out to local lawmakers for additional support, its leaders are encouraging the community to email the embassy in Cairo. More information can be found on CAIR's website.