A disabled man died after immigration officers in the US detained his father who was his son’s sole caregiver.
Maher Tarabishi was taken during a routine immigration check-in by ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) officials in Dallas. Three months later, his son Wael Tarabishi, who suffered from the lifelong condition Pompe disease, passed away at the age of 30.
His health had declined to the point where he could no longer survive with his condition, which leads to severe muscle weakness and heart problems, CNN reports.
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Following Wael’s passing, his family had pleaded with ICE to temporarily release Maher from the Bluebonnet Detention Facility in Anson, Texas, so he could be at the funeral. Their request was denied.
In a statement on Tuesday (January 27), the family’s lawyer Attorney Ali Elhorr condemned the “lack of humanity by those in charge.”
He said: “We are profoundly disappointed with ICE’s decision to deny Maher Tarabishi the opportunity to say his final goodbye to his beloved son, Wael.
“Today’s decision to keep him from saying goodbye is a reflection of the tragic lack of humanity by those in charge.”
The family said in a statement that preventing Maher from burying his son “would only deepen the wounds left by the pain of these past few months.”
Shahd Arnaout, Wael’s sister-in-law, told CNN that the family had struggled to take over the 24/7 care that Maher had provided for his son. This included bathing him, administering food and medication via a tube, amongst other duties.
Arnaaout said Wael’s condition declined significantly after his father was detained.
After two hospital visits due to health issues in November and December, Wael was admitted to the ICU at Methodist Mansfield Medical Center for a month before dying on January 23.
Before his death, he wrote in a statement that his father had been the “one who keeps me alive when I’m at my weakest,” the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reports.
He added: “Without him, I am nothing. Without him, I cannot survive.”
Maher travelled to the US in 1994 on a tourist visa as he fled violence. For years he worked as an IT engineer before quitting his job to look after Wael full-time.
Tricia McLaughlin, the spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security, said Maher had been allowed to remain in the US illegally for nearly 20 years despite being ordered by an immigration judge and the Board of Immigration Appeals to leave.
Elhorr said that in 2006, an immigration court ordered Maher’s removal, but he was allowed to stay in the US because he was his son’s caretaker and was required to attend annual check-ins with ICE.
He now faces deportation to Jordan.